


Video: Kiss From a Rose

by 123leyang321



Series: My Storm Hawks AMVs [2]
Category: Storm Hawks
Genre: Action, Adventure, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Battle, Castles, Drama, F/M, Fables - Freeform, Fairy Tale Style, Falling In Love, Fanvids, Fights, Fun, Funny, Heartwarming, Humor, Implied Sexual Content, Love, Mild Smut, Minor Character Death, Nudity, Princes & Princesses, Revenge, Romance, Ship Tease, Shipping, Suspense, True Love, War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-14
Updated: 2015-08-16
Packaged: 2019-03-17 22:53:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 37,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13668999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/123leyang321/pseuds/123leyang321
Summary: My first "fable" kind of story. It's the story from a video I uploaded on YouTube! Watch it, link on the story. Starring Aerrow, a rogue Sky Knight, and Piper, a Princess from a Terra far away from all the others. (AU, kinda) Rated Mature for gore/violence, and some sexual themes (nothing explicit, though).





	1. The Lone Tower in the Sky

* * *

 

**Chapter I**

**The Lone Tower in the Sky**

Once upon a time, in a strange planet called Atmos, all lived in kingdoms in the top of extremely high mountains, the Terras. Everyone used ships and skyrides to go from one place to another. Some brilliant stones, called crystals, had special powers and were used in an infinite number of ways to aid people's lives. In this world, there was an Empire in a Terra called Cyclonia, which attempted to rule every kingdom. Of course, most were against that, so the Atmos faced a long age of wars.

After one of the biggest battles, the kingdoms suffered a great loss, since many of their Sky Knights, guardians of the Terras, were slaughtered in the conflict. However, the Cyclonian Empire was also severely broken due to the battle, so the invasions stopped for a while and the world entered a temporary period of peace. And it's in this relatively peaceful time that our story happens.

Driving his red, blue and silver skimmer as fast as always was a young man, probably in his 16 or 17 years old. He was Caucasian, with red spiky hair and emerald green eyes. He wore a red and blue shirt, dark blue pants, brown boots and brown and blue gloves. He also had a plated armor protecting most of the vital areas. Sitting in the cockpit on the left booster was a monkey-rabbit-wolf looking animal, with its blue fur, brown irises in the middle of the yellow eyeballs and pink skin on the paws. It also wore clothes: a blue and purple uniform with a plate on the shoulder and a brown backpack.

The two were running away from someone: a wallop, a race that's known for being short-tempered and extremely strong physically. So, one can guess how much trouble that combination could cause if you get on their bad side. And that's exactly what those two had just done...

"Hey, you! Get back here!" - the wallop yelled angrily - "You stole my crystals!"

"Oh, c'mon, it was only one tiny bag of fuelers. You're not going to miss that. You have plenty of them." - the red-haired teenager said.

That only made the non-human man mad, though. He growled in rage and hit his fists against each other, lighting up his knuckle busters. When the boy turned around a tree in an attempt to lose the wallop, he punched the tree, taking it down in one blow. The animal with him chirped in fright as its eyes widened.

"Yeah, I'll admit this guy is tougher and smarter than most wallops." - the green eyed human commented - "But don't worry, Radarr, he can't get us in the sky."

At that, he accelerated the skyride towards the edge of the Terra. Radarr closed his eyes and the boy squinted his as they got closer and closer to the abyss. Without blinking, the teenager pushed the skimmer off the Terra. The skyride shined under the sunlight and then nose-dived quite fast. The wallop halted his ride and looked down as the other two went beyond the cloud layer and disappeared.

"Hmpf... I'll let the Wastelands take care of him." - he said, then he drove back to his village.

The boy and the little animal kept falling until they reached the land of spiky rocks and lava, the most dangerous place in the Atmos: the Wastelands. Radarr squeaked in terror and pulled on the pilot's arm.

"Too late to go back now, buddy." - the red-haired teenager smiled.

What?! All he had to do was pull up and fly away! The co-pilot crossed his little arms and glared at nowhere. Too late his… Ahhh! The animal ducked before a giant lava worm bit his head off. Phew… That was close! The skimmer had passed really close to that beast for his liking. He growled at the pilot.

"You know what they say: if you're going to hell, might hug the Devil as well." - the young man spoke nonchalantly as he sped up the skyride.

Radarr looked at him in disbelief. Uh… No? Nobody says that. Why in the world would someone ever say that?! Was he out of his mind?! But then the little guy realized: they were heading straight to the volcanic area, where several small tunnels shot out lava at an impressive velocity. Oh, God… No, no, no, no, no, no… No! The poor animal tucked himself inside the cockpit in order to avoid being barbecued by the lava.

The skimmer flew smoothly, narrowly dodging the volcanoes blasting their lava away. The teenager brought the skyride even closer to the river of lava, taunting the creatures that lived there in the process. The huge lava worms jumped out of the river attempting to swallow the whole skimmer. Aerrow did some barrel rolls, easily avoiding the huge beasts.

"Hahaha, this is even funnier than the last time we came here." - the boy said - "I guess these creatures must be mad at me for waking them up already."

The co-pilot glared at him. Oh, yeah, because bothering the deadliest beasts of the whole world was such a fun idea… Well, fun for him! The poor thing here was scared beyond recovery! He'd never pull himself together after that trauma… Radarr blinked as he saw another volcano nearby and ducked inside the cockpit when it blasted some lava upwards.

A few fiery droplets got caught in his tail though. The animal smelled the smoke, then looked behind him and noticed the flame on the tip of his tail. It took him a few seconds to feel the pain. Oh, there it was… His tail was on fire! On fire! He leaped up and down uncontrollably then glued himself to Aerrow's face, blocking out his view.

The boy screamed as he felt the skyride losing control. He grabbed on his co-pilot, trying to pull him away as the skimmer kept flying randomly in the air, luckily dodging the lava blasts and the beasts jumping from the lava river.

"Radarr! Get off me!" - he finally managed to make the animal sit down in front of him.

He looked at him a little angry, then stared forward. He blinked as they were closing in on a huge bat-like creature. The beast squealed in terror at that, but Aerrow quickly made the skimmer turn sideways so they narrowly missed the animal. He let out his breath, then looked at his friend. Radarr stared at him with puppy dog eyes, begging him to go back to somewhere safe.

"Okay, okay, enough fun in the Wastelands for today." - he rolled his eyes playfully.

The skimmer sped up towards the sky again. It pierced through the clouds really fast, dragging some smoke with it, and spun smoothly before steadying its flight. Radarr sighed in relief. Phew... Good thing he had some sense knocked into him.

"See? No sign of that guy." - the teenager said after he looked behind them - "I told you he couldn't outfly us." - he grinned confidently at his animal friend.

The creature smiled back at him for a moment, but then he saw something that caught his attention. He chirped in alert and pointed forward. The red-haired boy looked at where the animal had pointed at and blinked in surprise: a few meters away from them was a gigantic rock solid brick wall!

In the blink of an eye, he yanked the skimmer to his right, slowing it down just in time. Woah, that'd have been a pretty painful crash… He stared at the enormous structure. Just where in the world were they?


	2. Captivating Soul

* * *

**Chapter II**

**Captivating Soul**

Their skimmer floated in front of the huge wall. The teenager looked up and noticed that wasn't just a wall, though... It was a tower. And not any tower, it was a very high castle tower. He flew around it, studying it carefully. It didn't look abandoned nor anything. Whoever lived there was definitely some rich royalty.

He took a quick look around: there weren't any Terras nearby. He had managed to take them to a castle with a massive tower far off the known boundaries of the Atmos… He shrugged it off. Since they were there, they might as well take a look at the place, huh?

The noise from the skyride drew the attention of someone who peered outside from behind a curtain. After spotting the flying skyride, the person stepped into the balcony, revealing themselves: it was a girl with dark skin, midnight blue hair tied in a fancy way and orange eyes. She was dressed in a long pink dress with pink gloves that reached her shoulders and some jewelry. One important detail was the crown she had settled in her head.

The boy circled the tower and went higher and higher towards the top, once he caught sight of the girl he blinked. Wow... There was someone there after all! She was a Princess or a Queen! And... A very, very beautiful one alright... Radarr noticed his friend's distraction and waved a paw in front of his eyes, but the boy didn't even blink. The animal glanced at whatever had gotten the teenager's attention like that and saw the girl in the pink dress. He rolled his eyes. Figures... But then he realized they were heading straight into the roof!

He jumped in front of the boy and grabbed his head with his paws, turning it to the other side. The red-haired young man saw the ceiling coming closer and got startled. He immediately pulled on the handlers of the skimmer and caused it to stop abruptly, nearly sending the poor animal flying over the windshield. That was close... Radarr glared at him with a look that said "C'mon, twice in a row?!".

They heard someone giggling: it was the Princess/Queen. She stopped at the very moment she noticed their gaze on her. The boy smiled and decided to approach the balcony. He stood up and jumped into the balcony, leaving Radarr to keep the skyride afloat. As he stepped closer, the girl nearly backed away hesitantly, but then she stopped herself and showed she'd be courageous and meet that stranger face to face.

"What is your business here?" - she inquired.

After seeing her from up close he realized she was the same age as him. He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly at her question.

"Hm... I have no business, really. I got here by accident." - he explained - "My name's Aerrow. I'm a Sky Knight."

She studied him for a brief moment. Well, he looked like a trustworthy person... Probably...

"I see." - she said, then she smiled softly - "I am Piper, Princess of Terra Solaris. Welcome to my kingdom, please, feel free to land your magic flying ride in the balcony." - she pointed at the poor animal who looked as bored as ever having to keep the skimmer afloat.

"My magic... Flying ride?" - he glanced at Radarr, who seemed just as confused - "You mean my skimmer?"

"Skimmer? So that's what it's called." - the Princess said as the animal parked the blue, red and silver ride beside them.

"Wait... You've never seen a skyride before?" - Aerrow questioned her.

"No, I haven't." - she told him - "Terra Solaris isn't exactly known for its technology. We don't use machines. We do most of the work ourselves and sometimes we're aided by crystals. But that's all." - she gestured to some peasants working on the garden.

The people used the simplest tools, the Terra looked like it was... Behind the times. But they probably had a motive for that.

"Uh... Any particular reason for that?" - he was curious.

"By doing this we avoid drawing attention to us, thus keeping our Terra out of the war that's going on." - she explained - "My people don't deserve to suffer. I'll do anything in my power to protect them."

"Hm... Words of a true Queen, Your Highness." - he commented.

"Please, just call me Piper." - she dismissed the formality shyly - "My crown doesn't really make me who I am, you know."

"What? Oh, no, of course not. Uh, I-I mean..." - he stuttered and then trailed off.

He had never thought he'd be capable of nearly offending a Princess. That was really awkward, now he had just made a fool of himself. Radarr shook his head at that as if he were saying "Better change the subject, Aerrow". Luckily for the boy, she took care of that.

"You said you were a Sky Knight. I know they're supposed to lead a group and guard their own Terras." - she began - "What brought you to a place so far away from any other civilization? And where's your... Team?"

Aerrow looked around and remembered there really were no Terras in sight. He had happened to get to a place that was literally in the middle of nowhere.

"As I said, I got here by chance. I was somewhere else and I decided to take a shortcut through the Wastelands. I think that's what made me end up here." - he told her - "And... I don't have a team. It's only Radarr over there and I." - he nodded to the animal who just sat on the skimmer casually, waiting for the boy.

"You're a lone one, then... What Terra are you from?" - she asked.

"I don't really protect a specific Terra, I just roam around the Atmos." - he explained.

"So you actually travel around the world? That's amazing!" - she clenched her hands excitedly - "I've always dreamed of traveling and seeing what the rest of the Atmos has to offer. What's the world like?"

"It's... Nice, I guess? I mean, I've been to quite a few places and..." - he tried to think of how to begin.

"What have you seen? Where have you been to?" - she asked a little bit too eagerly, so she quickly recovered her composure - "I... I can't leave the castle, because my people need me, so I've never had the chance to know what's out there." - she lowered her head - "Oh, please, tell me about your adventures!" - she actually pleaded.

He looked at her funny for a moment. One thing he had never imagined would ever happen to him was a Princess begging him to tell his stories. Her glimmering orange eyes staring at him expectantly were too much. Even though he had other things to worry about, he simply couldn't deny that request. Maybe his search could wait.

"Uh... Sure." - he shrugged.

Radarr blinked. What?! But...! They had to search for... And he saw his friend entering the Princess' room. Ugh... Forget it... He rolled his eyes annoyed and crossed his little arms. And to think Aerrow had refused to visit the Terra of the giant bananas because they had more important stuff to do... Hmpf! When it was something for his benefit, though, the important stuff didn't even matter anymore, huh? The nerve of him! But soon his thoughts were interrupted when the girl in the pink dress stepped outside once more with a bowl of fruits.

"Hm... Excuse me, but are you hungry?" - she asked him - "I have lots of food in here. You can eat as much as you wish."

The animal just looked at her speechless for a brief second. Then he chirped and quickly dashed to the room, going straight for the small table with a few plates of food. Yeah, maybe that girl wasn't so bad after all. He stuffed his mouth with a piece of bread and some berries, savoring them.

"If you want to win his heart, you're doing it right." - Aerrow said.

The Princess giggled as she approached the animal.

"He's such an adorable little guy." - she patted his head.

Radarr couldn't help but melt at her touch. Yeah... She knew the right spot to pet him. He churred a little. Her hand stroke his fur so softly! She actually knew how to pet him better than Aerrow did. If there was one magical thing there it was her hand. Now he understood the boy's sudden liking to her, she had certainly cast a spell on him. From that brief touch, he could sense how captivating her soul was. One day she'd be a pretty good Queen, alright.

She left the animal to savor the food and walked towards Aerrow, who just sat on a fancy chair beside her bed. She took a seat on the bed near him and waited for him to start.

"Well, where should I begin..." - he said in thought.

He just couldn't decide what story he'd tell her first, he had so many good ones to choose from. That'd be quite a long morning... Or a quick one. Who knows?

* * *

 

Quite a while later, Aerrow had told her about many of his adventures. How he ended up the land of the presumably extinct dragons, the time he faced the Murk Raiders of Terra Deep, the deadly escape from the Black Gorge, his nearly one way trip to the Great Expanse, his visits to the desert like Terra Saharr, the snowy Terra Blizzaris, the lake from Terra Aquanos, the jungles from Terra Amazonia, the fun-filled Terra Neon.

"Oh, my…!" - she said excitedly - "You've actually been to a Terra that's a giant amusement park?!"

"Yep. Terra Neon's always packed though, so we don't go there very often." - he told her - "Spending the whole day in lines just to go to a few attractions isn't worth it. But there were a few lucky days when we went there and the place was empty. Radarr and I had fun all day long then."

"Why would a Terra like that ever get empty?" - she asked.

"Beats me." - he shrugged.

Piper stood up and walked towards the balcony. Her smile disappeared as she stared at the sky and leaned against the doorway.

"I wish I could travel like you. See the world…" - she sighed.

Aerrow frowned at that. She really seemed unhappy for having to stay locked to that Terra. She loved her people so much that she was sacrificing all her joy for them. It was almost unfair.

"Hey, you could always go for a quick trip every once in a while. It's not like the ruler of a Terra is obliged to stay on it all the time." - he said to her - "What if you really need to travel because of… Uh, a diplomatic mission, for example?"

"I know. It's not that someone is forbidding me from traveling. In fact, I have the autonomy to do that if necessary." - she explained - "But the problem is that the transportation from Terra Solaris is… Well, obsolete, to say the least… So a quick trip would take ages, and that's why I can't afford to leave the castle."

"What about upgrading the technology of your Terra?" - he suggested.

"That's something I've been thinking about for a while now." - she said - "But that'd require us to use crystals to advance. And… That's something my father had told me not to do, in order to protect this Terra. Yet…" - she trailed off for a brief moment - "I know we can't live like this forever. His plan could still fail, and if it does, we'd be defenseless unless we worked on the upgrades." - she then turned to him - " I'm glad you ended up here, Aerrow. You're giving me more confidence in my decision. You see, I was actually thinking of having a meeting about this soon and I was going to tell my counselor about it today, but I wasn't sure of that… Until you suggested this now."

"Really? I guess the opinion of an outsider might come in handy sometimes." - he rubbed the back of his head.

She giggled in agreement.

"I'm sure we'll manage something one day." - she held her arms - "Until then, I shall keep things in order from within the castle."

The red-haired teenager felt sorry for the Princess. She probably lived locked up in the castle for all those years. She really deserved to get out and take a look at what was out there. And it was then that he had an idea.

"You know, you might not be able to go for a real trip right now, but… What about a little spin around the Terra?" - he said as he nodded to his skimmer.

She stared blankly at him then a bright smile graced her face. Was she happy to hear him inviting her to fly in the skies! She had always wanted to do that after reading so many books about how people in the Atmos flew around. The books never explained how, so one would think people had wings! But now she was aware of the truth: the people had built machines that could fly very fast, unlike the balloons she knew of, the skyrides.

She dashed to the skimmer and sat comfortably, with both legs to one side, since she was wearing a long dress and it was just impracticable to split the long skirt in half, plus, it was rude for a lady. She then turned to him with her hands clenched in front of her chest excitedly.

"Haha, what are we waiting for? Let's fly!" - she said.

"Alright! That's the spirit." - he smiled and hopped on the pilot's seat.

He gestured for her to hold onto him so she'd not fall, then he drove slowly for the edge of the balcony. From her lively attitude, he thought it'd be a smooth flight and he could even do some tricks and stuff, however he never guessed that the moment they were about to drop from the castle, all her excitement would suddenly turn into fear of heights, since she had never done anything like that in her life before.

"On second thought, I think I could have prepared a little bit longer for…" - but before she could finish, they were already in free fall - "…this!"

She went completely stiff from fear, which caused her not to concentrate on holding onto Aerrow. The inertia took the best of her and ended up pushing her up and making her be dragged off the skimmer. She screamed helplessly, and the moment the teenager looked behind him and saw her "floating" in the air, his eyes widened.

"Princess! Hang on!" - he said as he quickly deployed the wings to slow down his fall.

By doing that, he managed to get the girl back on the skyride, but… Not exactly in style. In fact, that became possibly one of the most awkward events ever. She held onto him like she was supposed to, but instead of grabbing his chest or waist, she grabbed his neck and head! Basically, she was suffocating him and obstructing his vision at the same time!

Both screamed as the skimmer flew uncontrollably in the skies and completely out of course. Aerrow tried to pull her arms away from his neck and eyes, so he could properly pilot the skyride. He was capable to finally stop them dead in the air before they'd crash against the main tower of the castle. Now able to see and to breath, he looked at the Princess with a surprised, worried and slightly weirded out expression. She shrunk her neck between her shoulders and smiled sheepishly and apologetically.

"Wow, you do have a tight grip." - he told her as he briefly massaged his neck - "But I can't pilot if you don't hold onto me properly."

"Sorry… It's just, I never considered if I'd be afraid of heights." - she told him.

"It's okay. I guess you'll probably feel better if you stay in front of me, then." - he said while he stood up, letting go completely of the controls.

That scared the girl to no end. She looked like a frightened cat and she literally shivered from fear.

"Y-You let go of the… Oh, Gosh… We're going to fall." - she stuttered in alarm.

"Princess… You need to stay calm if you want this to work." - he frowned a little worried, then he quickly positioned himself behind her and grabbed on the handlebars, so his arms went one on each side of her, like two guard-rails - "See? Now you're protected from all sides. I'm not going to let you fall, promise." - he grinned at her.

She was at the same time unsure and shy of touching his arms since they had just met and yet they were already going for a flight and were this close to each other… But nonetheless, she sighed in relief and smiled back at him for his understanding. She remained quieter in the seat in order to allow Aerrow to have full control over the skimmer.

They went for an easy flight for starters, so the Princess wouldn't be startled and would get used to flying. The more they flew, the more excited she became. At some point, she was the one throwing her arms up like she were on a rollercoaster ride and asking him to do his stunts. It was almost unbelievable that they spent a good few hours in the sky without anyone from the Terra noticing the Princess' absence.

It was nearly night when the young man brought her back from their ride, then picked Radarr up and said goodbye, so he could be on his way. Of course, he wasn't allowed to leave without promising her he'd come to visit her again soon. He told her he'd come back the next morning, and she smiled, letting him know she'd eagerly wait for him so they could talk more about his adventures and maybe go for another ride.

* * *

 

Aerrow walked through an automatic door, carrying an asleep Radarr in his arms. He headed to his room in his carrier ship, the famous Condor: fastest ship in the world. He placed the little animal in the bed and covered him with some blankets.

"I bet you like her now, don't you?" - he smiled as he hung his armor on the wall and lied on the bed.

He sighed content. He didn't know why, but that girl had blown him away. The memory of when she pretended she was driving his skimmer was played in his mind. A grin appeared in his face. Her giggles still lingered in his ears after hours, just like a person's most adored song. Orange, blue and pink were his new favorite colors... Whatever spell she had cast on him was certainly powerful.

He closed his eyes so he would go to sleep. For some reason he wanted the night to pass by as fast as possible just so he could see her again sooner in the day after. He drifted to his dreams and nothing seemed to be able to bother him at that moment. It was one of the rare occasions in which he was actually able to sleep without worrying about his search so much. He definitely had to thank the Princess for that later.


	3. Hunted and Haunted

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Implied sexual content in this chapter.

* * *

**Chapter III**

**Hunted and Haunted**

Aerrow's ship was flying not too far from Terra Solaris. He had taken it there so he could stay closer to the princess and easily go visit her. It was very early in the morning, the sun hadn't even come out yet when the Condor was attacked.

The Sky Knight was still asleep when a red blast of energy blew his wall up right beside his bed, throwing him to the ground. He protected his head from falling debris then used the smoke as cover, so he could stand up and grab a weapon. He held one of his twin blades lit up and ready as he walked closer to the hole in the ship. Out there, standing on a Cyclonian skyride, the switchblade, he saw a man with black hair, crimson red eyes, and the green and red Cyclonian uniform.

"Dark Ace..." - he gritted his teeth as he bitterly said the name.

The man laughed at him, then back flipped to sit on the pilot's seat and proceeded to fly away. Aerrow wouldn't let him get away with that, so he dashed towards the hole and jumped down to the landing strip. From there he quickly ran to the hangar bay to mount on his skimmer and chase after the Cyclonian.

But to his dismay, something got in his way during the pursuit. He had quick flashes of memories from the day before very intensely in front of his eyes, causing him to lose focus and track of reality.

_The Princess and him were talking, when they heard a knock on the door. It was a group of servants, they waited outside her room._

_"Aerrow, you have to hide, otherwise they'll think you're an intruder." - she whispered._

_He nodded and quickly hid behind a curtain. Lucky for him, the curtain actually reached the ground, so he was completely concealed. The maids entered the room holding some hot towels and a basket of fresh fruits._

_"It's time for your royal massage, Your Highness." - the one holding the towels told her while the one holding the basket set it on a table._

_"Oh, it is? I hadn't noticed it was already afternoon." - the Princess giggled._

_She lied with her belly down in her bed, her servants proceeded to massage her back and shoulders. Then soon they made her turn around in the bed so they could work on her feet._

_"Ah, yes, that's the right spot..." - Piper said._

_She was really enjoying all that care, and Aerrow was able to witness everything from behind the curtain. He held his breath and pressed himself against the wall when she moaned blissfully, her soft groans sending chills down his spine. That little scene had triggered some strange reactions from him. And it definitely wasn't the right time for that... What in the world was he even thinking?_

After that, another memory appeared.

_The Princess picked up one of her favorite toys and gave it to Radarr: it was a small rabbit plushie._

_"Here you go." - she spoke as the animal rubbed his head against the super soft stuffed toy - "Please, take care of Mr. Fluffytail for me."_

_The little guy purred. He loved that ultra cuddly plushie! He had liked it so much that he actually took it with him to the Condor and slept holding onto it._

And finally, a scene of her making a few bold remarks to her counselor when he and a few servants had brought her a pile of books so she would study.

_"Your Highness, these are the books you've requested for today." - the counselor told her._

_"Thanks." - she said - "I'll get to them soon. I wanted to discuss some plans for a small academy of Crystal Mastery first."_

_She was a very independent person, even though she was a royalty with lots of servants at her disposal, she had her own ideas and intended to go through with them._

_"Just what exactly do you have in mind, Your Highness?" - the man asked her._

_"You know, we should teach everyone in the kingdom how to use all the crystals' potential." - she explained - "It'll be good for our people."_

_"But, Princess, your father had instructed me to prevent you from advancing with the crystals in the kingdom." - he responded - "To keep..."_

_"To keep the Terra concealed from the Cyclonians." - she completed for him - "I know my father had good reasons for that, but you have to understand that his plan isn't fool-proof. We might be hidden for now, but who knows what will happen tomorrow? We need to be prepared in case someone finds Terra Solaris."_

_"I... Guess you are right, Your Highness." - the counselor admitted, to which she smiled._

_She definitely had a strong will and knew how to stand her ground. And she was the kind of person that would get things done. Aerrow had also thought if maybe her decision was in part because he was able to find the Terra, so that gave her a warning._

He then blinked, coming back to reality. He looked around frantically: the sky was empty, no sign of that switchblade anywhere. He glared at nowhere specifically. That man had escaped because he couldn't focus. He flew back to the Condor and went straight to his room to check up on Radarr.

"Are you okay, buddy?" - the teenager asked concerned, to which the little creature nodded.

The animal hadn't suffered any injury with the explosion since he was lying on the ground with the plushie, but he definitely got startled: his fur was spiky and completely messed up from the fright. Well, who could blame him? It's not like a loud explosion happened every morning...

"I'm sorry you were woken up like that. At least he's gone now." - he said as he sat on the bed.

But Radarr noticed he wasn't happy with that outcome, for he sighed sadly. So he leaped on the bed and looked at the Sky Knight as if he were asking him to talk.

"I lost him because I was distracted. I couldn't stop worrying about the Princess." - he told him - "We might have ruined her kingdom's plans of remaining concealed."

The animal whimpered in agreement. They had to do something about that. And they would, regardless of wanting or not, because a messenger falcon flew through the hole in the room and landed on the bed beside them. Aerrow and Radarr blinked, then the red-haired young man reached for the scroll on its back and opened it.

"It's a message from Terra Solaris." - he read the letter - "We're being summoned to speak with the Princess."

He and Radarr exchanged glances as the bird flew away. For some reason, the Sky Knight had a strange feeling about that. Yet, he'd not refuse an appointment with her, so both climbed on his skimmer and headed for the Terra.

The two arrived at the castle, and all the guards stared at them with serious looks in their faces. Well, that wasn't a good sign... They kept walking towards the main entrance and stopped right in front of it, where the counselor and a few guards stood.

"You must be Aerrow, the Sky Knight." - the man spoke seemingly already aware of the situation - "The Princess has requested your presence in her room. She wishes to speak to you... Alone." - he emphasized the last part.

The green-eyed teenager nodded.

"Wait for me here, Radarr." - he said to his friend as the animal jumped from his shoulder to the ground.

The guards opened a door, revealing a stairway in the main tower that led to the Princess' room. When Aerrow was about to step inside, the counselor leaned closer to him.

"Just because Your Highness has demanded a private talk, it doesn't mean we won't be keeping a close eye on you." - he warned coldly - "If anything happens to our Princess, you are to be taken out on spot. So don't even dare to think of making a move against her."

"I'd never do such a thing. I am a Sky Knight, remember?" - he responded.

"Yes, you are. And a rogue one. Which means you cannot be trusted." - the man crossed his arms.

At that, Aerrow clenched his fists. He should have guessed he'd have a bad reputation because he went rogue... But he didn't mean any harm! Couldn't they see it?!

"I will not try to do anything to the Princess. I even left my weapons back in my ship. But if you want better proof..." - he proceeded to remove his plates and drop them on the ground unceremoniously - "I'll take out my armor too. There, now I'm unarmed _and_ defenseless. Is that enough for you?" - and upon receiving no answer, he continued - "What? Do you want me to tie my hands behind my back and turn myself in?"

"That'd be ideal." - the counselor said - "But the Princess has told us to treat you as a guest. So, for now, you won't have to do that."

If the teenager didn't have control over his emotions, he'd have grimaced at that. What a warm welcoming committee they had there... All that made him think whether the Princess was mad at him for possibly putting the Terra in danger. He sighed. He better face her already and get that over with.

"Well, may I go upstairs now?" - he asked almost impatiently.

"Suit yourself. We'll remain here." - the man put it bluntly.

The Sky Knight didn't waste his time: he ran by the stairway, skipping steps so he could get to the top as quickly as possible. When he found the door to her room, he reached an arm out to knock on it, but hesitated, his fist frozen midway. He couldn't picture her reaction in his mind, because it was just impossible for him to imagine her sweet face staring angrily at him.

What was he supposed to do? He definitely ruined the Terra's cover... How could he ever make up for that? Apologizing wouldn't solve her problem... And staying there would only attract even more enemies. But leaving? Just like that? It probably would be best for everyone if he did that, but still... That wasn't like him at all! He wasn't one to run away from the problems. Maybe... There was something else he could do.

He had made a decision, but before he even had the chance to touch the door, he heard the Princess calling from the inside.

"You may come in." - her voice said.

He blinked. She knew he was standing right outside her bedroom? He glanced around to see if there were any guards hidden in there, but he couldn't find anyone else in that hall, besides himself. Maybe she heard his steps getting closer to her door... That didn't matter. There were more important things to worry about. He turned the doorknob and slowly opened the door.

There was a very short corridor, like a hallway, separating the door from the rest of the room. He silently made his way in, peering from behind the wall to see where exactly she was. After not being able to spot her, he walked into the room. She was standing near the doorway to the balcony, staring at the sky, so her back was to him. She moved her head to her left, staring at him from the corner of her eye. He leaned against the edge of the wall and crossed his arms.

"Hm, so... You've summoned me, Princess?" - he said, trying to sound a little bit casual.

She turned around, looking intensely at him. No words were said. Her silence just made him more anxious than ever. She didn't seem like she wanted to talk about the Cyclonian that had passed very near her territory. Something else was on her mind, and he couldn't figure it out.

"What's wrong, Your Highness?" - he decided that he should keep the formality since there probably were guards watching.

She just set on a chair near a table, crossing her arms on top of it and rested her head on her hand. She studied his puzzled look for a moment, then she straightened herself in the chair, lowering her arms on the table.

"Who are you?" - she inquired.

Who was him? That was all she wanted to know. Well, she was definitely wise, because that one question would reveal the truth about him and what was going on behind the attack on his ship in one go. Two birds with one stone...

"Well... I guess you have the right to know, especially after what happened." - his shoulders fell a little - "It all began a few years ago..."

* * *

 

"My father, Lightning Strike, was a Sky Knight. A really good one. He and his squadron participated in many of the battles during the main conflicts of this war."

_A red haired and green eyed man wearing a uniform with all shades of blue and a mighty armor piloted a skimmer in the skies. Behind him were his team members, all wearing the same kind of uniform. They all also wore a plate on their backs that resembled a hawk._

"The squadron was called Storm Hawks. They roamed around the world, helping those in need. It was during the times of the invasions."

_The Storm Hawks were shown defending a Terra from the Cyclonian clutches. The team fought with all they had and never gave up, no matter the odds._

"My father used to be the Sky Knight of Terra Nimbus before he founded the Storm Hawks. In order to keep our home Terra safe, he told me to take his place as the Sky Knight, so I began my training then."

_A 14-year-old Aerrow saluted Lightning as the latter left the Terra and headed for the big battles. The boy wished he could have gone with him, but he had a duty with his people and he had promised his father he'd protect Terra Nimbus with his life._

"However, things soon became quite grim. This guy appeared out of nowhere, offering to be my father's co-pilot. For some reason, I had a bad feeling from the first time I saw him."

_A man with black hair and dark red eyes spoke to Aerrow's father. He was accepted as the co-pilot and even became like a right-hand man to the Sky Knight. He had a uniform and everything, and he sat on a cockpit attached to Lightning's skimmer's booster._

"My suspicions were confirmed during the biggest battle we've had so far. The one that made both sides retreat to recover. My father was leading all the Sky Knights of the Atmos towards the Cyclonian castle when that man betrayed him."

_Lightning was in the front line, all the other Sky Knights, even Aerrow himself, following his lead. They flew to the Cyclonian castle for the last offensive that'd end that war once and for all. But soon the most horrifying incident happened: the co-pilot sneaked behind him and pulled the Sky Knight's sword out. Unarmed, Aerrow's father stared at the man he once considered a friend in shock._

_He had trusted him... The co-pilot had a team that cared for him like a family member... He had a home... And yet, he was going to throw everything away with one sick move. He smirked as he stroke with the sword. Lightning had his glider cut off his armor in the process. He fell from the skimmer and plummeted in the skies, to never be seen again. Aerrow witnessed that scene with his own eyes and screamed in horror._

_Before being able to do anything to save his father, he could only watch as the co-pilot switched the blue striker crystal from his father's sword to another red crystal he had never heard of. The man leaped and unleashed a gigantic red shockwave that knocked back and destroyed all the Sky Knights' rides._

_The co-pilot laughed maniacally as he flew around the area, observing all the knights parachuting so they'd not perish as Lightning did. From where Aerrow had crash landed due to the shockwave, he took a good look at the man who betrayed his father. He punched his own hand and glared at him in rage._

"That man was then known as the Dark Ace that had been under the Master's sleeve all along. He had been sent with the purpose of defeating the main leader of the rebellion to ruin the army's morale. And it worked: the Sky Knights retreated to their own Terras, to protect what they could and no longer helped one another. Lucky for us, the Empire was quite damaged, so they had to slow down. But still... That didn't prevent them from invading a few Terras. Nimbus was one of them."

_Aerrow had come back to his Terra to find a big army of Cyclonians ready to raid it. He did everything he could to stop them, but he was outnumbered and outgunned. He helplessly watched as his home Terra wasn't only conquered, but it was destroyed for good._

* * *

 

"I was too late to save my people. Terra Nimbus is no more. Since then, I decided to go look for the Dark Ace, to at least avenge my father's death." - he explained.

"So that's why you went rogue." - she had guessed already, and he nodded - "Was that the Dark Ace who flew near the Terra this morning?"

"Yes... He was sent after me since I'm the new leader of the Storm Hawks." - he told her - "The Master must have anticipated that I'd try to rebuild the squadron and make the Sky Knights rise against the Empire again."

"And will you?" - she asked him.

"I... Don't know." - he hesitated - "So far all I've been doing was trying to track him down. Now that he came to me I think it'll be easier to figure out where he'll appear next."

"You are not attempting to end this war... Are you?" - she stared at the ground with an upset expression.

"Of course I want this war to end. I just..." - he trailed off, trying to think of better words to use - "Need to... Take care of something first."

"Then that's the destiny you've settled with..." - she stood up and walked away from him a little, rubbing her arms uneasily - "A path of revenge, in which you'll corrupt everything in your way until you ultimately destroy yourself..."

"What? No! I... I'm sorry if I brought one of them here, I had no intentions of putting you or your kingdom in danger." - he said to her - "They're after me so they won't bother you. And... I... Was wondering... If there might be a chance that you're in danger... If you'd join me, so I can watch over for you."

"Are you seriously asking me this? To leave my Terra, my people, who depend on me... To join you in your quest for vengeance, rage, and hatred?" - the way she put it made him almost cringe in shame - "My answer is no. I'll never help you with such a goal." - she crossed her arms and sat on her bed.

He blinked quite taken aback. She didn't only say "No", she had also said she would never assist him with his "foul" objective. He lowered his head sadly. What kind of person was he to ask her something like that? That... That attitude would have been viewed as a dishonor to the Sky Knights.

"I guess... I should leave, then... So no one else from the Empire will come here again." - he concluded.

"That'd probably be the best for all of us..." - she agreed, which made him feel like his heart had been shred to pieces, even though she did say that with an upset tone.

"Well... I'll be going now..." - he said quietly - "I am sorry for the trouble I caused."

He walked by the small hall and as he reached for the door, her voice spoke to him again.

"Aerrow..." - she paused for a brief moment, to make sure he was listening - "Do you really think that's what your father would have wanted?" - and upon seeing all he did was stare at the ground with his back to her, she continued - "Just... Think about it..."

He turned the doorknob and left the room without saying a word. Not that he didn't want to speak to her, he just didn't know what else to say. He had no idea of how to answer her question. And he didn't have the courage to look back at her in the eyes to say he wasn't sure of what to do anymore.

There was only one thing he was certain of: he had to leave. He had to stay far away from her, to protect her. That was so ironic... He went downstairs to get his co-pilot.

"C'mon, Radarr. We have to go." - he said, then he turned to the counselor - "We'll leave so we won't draw any more attention to the Terra. You should be safe after that."

"Very well, then. We've guarded your... Skyride for you." - the man spoke solemnly.

Aerrow nodded and remained silent. He walked to the skimmer, and once Radarr hoped on the cockpit, he took off without looking back. That'd be just too painful to bear... The two disappeared among the clouds to never come back.


	4. Knight in Shining Armor

* * *

**Chapter IV**

**Knight in Shining Armor**

Lightning bolts illuminated the red skies, typical from Cyclonia. The sound of thunder echoing everywhere was everlasting. The main castle, a tall building with spiky towers made of dark-colored metal, stood among all that noise and flashes of light. Inside it, there was a large throne room, where the new young Empress was taking place. She had some guards remove the throne from the room, so she'd have more space for... Other important things.

"My Grandmother was certainly old-fashioned." - a girl with black hair and violet eyes covered in makeup said - "I have no time to sit idle and 'contemplate the view'. There are many changes that need to be done around here if we're to be successful in conquering all the Terras."

She wore a long dark robe, with a peculiar collar that could shapeshift into a hood. She turned to look at the door when she heard the sound of metallic boots coming closer.

"Master Cyclonis." - the black haired and red-eyed man bowed - "I have some news from my last mission."

"Oh, Dark Ace, you're done already? I'd not expect less from you." - she commented - "What have you brought this time?"

"I have found the descendant of the Storm Hawks. He was aboard the Condor near an uncharted Terra beyond the explored boundaries." - he told her.

"So he managed to recover the ship from the Wastelands and rebuild it." - she said in thought - "He might become a problem if we allow him to keep roaming the Atmos now that he doesn't have a Terra anymore..."

"He hasn't assembled a squadron yet, Master. If you intend to do something about him, this would be the ideal moment." - the Dark Ace suggested.

"Yes. I'll have my Night Crawlers raid the whole Terra in search for that Sky Knight. If he's hiding, he'll be found. And if he tries to run away, those people will suffer." - the Empress decided - "He won't have a choice other than surrender himself."

"That's a smart strategy." - the Cyclonian man said.

"And as for you, Dark Ace, I have a special mission in mind." - she turned to him - "You are to bring me the Aurora Stone from Terra Atmosia. I've sent an army there, they'll arrive in a week."

"As you command." - he bowed and made his way out of the room.

The Empress turned to a machine: it was a big crystal infuser. She input some commands on the keyboard and proceeded to fuse and convert some crystals.

"Soon my Storm Machine will be finished and anyone who stands in my way will be crushed under my heels." - she smirked.

Indeed, the queen of Cyclonia was a ruthless tyrant. She was feared by the whole world because of what she was capable of. And in these darkest hours, all everyone could do was pray for a miracle, for someone who would be able to defeat her.

* * *

 

The sun was setting in Terra Solaris. The night took over the sky. Princess Piper stood near the doorway to the balcony, gazing at the stars that were coming out, a feeling of longing settled in her heart. She frowned. She wished things didn't have to be that way. That Aerrow didn't have to be forced to leave... But she had to do that to protect her kingdom.

She felt a cold wind pass by her and make her shiver. She rubbed her arms and walked inside her room. She passed by the counter when she noticed a piece of paper on it... Where something else should be instead.

"I'm sure there was a portrait in here." - she said as she picked the paper up and unfolded it.

There was a message written on it:

_"Princess,_

_I hope you won't mind that I borrowed your royal portrait._

_I just had to take something that reminded me of you with me, since you aren't coming._

_If one day I'm allowed to go to your kingdom again, I'll put it right back where I found it._

_Sincerely,_

_Aerrow"_

The princess smiled, she clenched a hand in front of her chest as her cheeks grew warm. Then she blinked and quickly glanced around. Just when did he do that? The cold breeze entered the room by the door to the balcony and played with her hair. She shyly looked at the note in her hands, a knowing grin graced her features. She suddenly felt safe and cared for. She had a hunch that he was watching over her somehow.

She heard a knock on the door, and it opened a second later, revealing her counselor and a few maids.

"Your Highness, the chef needs to know what do you want for dinner today." - the man told her.

"Of course. But first, I wish to ask you something: shall we all eat together this time?" - she put her arms behind her back.

"What do you mean, Your Highness?" - he questioned her.

"I'd like for all our servants that work so hard to keep the castle in order to dine with me." - she placed her hands on her maids' shoulders - "Including you, Counselor." - she smirked at him.

"Oh, I... I am honored, Your Highness, but... What for?" - he was trying to figure out what was on her mind with that request all of a sudden.

"You might not have noticed, but we are all like one very big family. All of you deserve to sit on the table and have a nice dinner for being so loyal to the royal family." - she said - "C'mon, what are you waiting for? Go tell the others! Everyone has to be present. And as for me, I'll give the chef a little hand." - she proceeded to walk towards the door, but then she halted her steps for a moment - "Oh, one more thing: would you please start calling me Piper? Seeing you all address me as 'Your Highness' all the time makes me feel like I'm not even a person."

"Of course, Your... I mean... Piper." - the counselor nearly messed up.

That would take some getting used to. It's not like he could prevent her from wanting people to address her by her first name, there was nothing wrong with that, it just... Felt strange. She was their Princess, their ruler. She was above them all and yet she requested being treated as their equal...

No wonder why the King knew she was going to be a very good Queen, loved by everyone. She had it in her. She had everything a fair and kind ruler required. She was indeed the sun that shone its bright light to all the people like her mother used to say. Her parents would be so proud of her...

The Princess ran downstairs and pretty much invaded the kitchen. The chef and his assistants blinked surprised, one of the cooks had thrown a pancake up to switch its side and nearly missed it from the fright.

"Your Highness, what a surprise seeing you here." - the chef commented.

"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry, chef... I should come here more often to at least pay you all a visit and see how you are doing." - she lowered her head in an apologizing manner.

The cooks exchanged confused glances, not understanding what their soon-to-be Queen was going on about. Why was she asking forgiveness? It's not like she did anything wrong to them. In fact, she was a very kind and nice ruler and they served her with all the pleasure of the world. She wasn't excessively demanding and she always warmly complimented and thanked them for their hard work.

"Please, Your Highness, you don't need to apologize for anything." - the chef said - "You have done nothing wrong."

"Still... You all deserve much more than this. It's only fair that you should be rewarded for your loyalty." - she gestured them, then placed a hand in front of her heart - "In times like these, where there's a war going on and we can only count on very few people, being able to rely on all of you is a blessing. So, for once, I want you all to have dinner with me at the royal table."

"That would be an honor, Your Highness." - the chef and all the cooks bowed.

"Also, I wish to be addressed by my first name from now on. I'd like you to see me as your equal, not as someone above you. I'm a person just like you." - she said - "And... Would you mind if I helped with the cooking? I... I have always wanted to make something for you all."

The staff in the kitchen smiled. Their Princess was requesting to be treated like a commoner and was humbly asking them to allow her to cook for them.

"Oh, dear Piper, of course you can join us." - an old lady, the sous-chef and also the lady that used to take care of the Princess when she was a baby approached her - "We'll be more than glad to teach you how to cook anything."

The girl in the pink dress beamed at that.

"Thank you!" - she responded excitedly.

* * *

 

Soon all of the servants of the castle, every single maid, guard, everyone was gathered around the big royal table. And that table was really huge, it was actually big enough for the whole staff. It even made them wonder why in the world did the royal family had such an enormous table if there'd be so many seats left. They also came to think of how lonely it must have been for the Princess to have dinner on that table all alone ever since her parents had died, so they couldn't help but feel sorry for her. Maybe that was a reason why she was requesting them to have dinner with her in the first place...

"Alright, everyone, the dinner is ready for all of us." - Piper said - "I hope you didn't have to wait too long. Each one could please come to pick up a plate and place it on the table? There's a lot of things in here."

All the servants grabbed the plates with all kinds of food and distributed them on top of the table. Some placed the silverware, glasses, and napkins. Now that was a really fancy feast... It could feed over sixty people! They all sat at the same time the Princess did.

"Please, don't wait for me to start, eat as much as you wish!" - the soon-to-be Queen told them.

The servants hesitated for a brief moment, then one of the guards shrugged it off and took a bite of a piece of meat. The others quickly glanced at him and at the Princess, and seeing she didn't mind at all that he didn't exactly have royal like manners, they felt more at ease and decided to eat as well.

Everyone was enjoying the meal, and it didn't take too long for them to feel more comfortable and act more naturally around their Princess. The whole staff and the royal girl were interacting like an actual family. Even going to the point of telling jokes and doing silly things in the table, then laughing out loud without any restraints. That was a great moment for all of them. It strengthened the bonds between them and the Princess.

"Ah, by the looks of it, everyone has had enough food for now, huh?" - the girl said - "But there's still one little thing I'd like you all to taste: a batch of sandcakes I myself have baked for all of you."

The sous-chef smiled as she brought the huge basket with many sandcakes to the table.

"The Princess has requested you to give her a score for her recipe." - the old lady told them - "She wants an honest opinion, no penalty will come to anyone who dislikes it."

They all picked up one sandcake each and ate them. They silently savored the sweet.

"Yes, so I don't want you all to give me the max score just to make me feel happy. I'll know if you do." - the Princess said.

A moment later, they all had finished eating.

"Your Highness, I don't know if this is the best sandcake in the world, but it's the best one I've ever eaten. I'm serious." - a guard complimented her.

"I really liked it too, Your Highness!" - a maid said - "I... Was even going to ask if you'd ever bake some more of them another time."

"It's dry and crunchy on the outside, and soft and creamy on the inside." - the chef commented - "A perfect combination, Princess, you do have excellent taste."

"Aww... You're just being too nice." - the girl said.

"I beg to differ, Princess. If the chef thinks what you made was appetizing, then it truly was tasty. You do know how great a cook he is." - the sous-chef told her.

The Princess blinked.

"Do you really think this was good?" - she asked her servants.

"Of course, Your Highness. Why? Haven't you tried them yourself?" - one of her guards questioned them.

"Well, I did make some taste tests, but I haven't gotten the chance to eat the final result." - she confessed.

"Princess, here, there's still one cake left!" - one of the maids told her as she picked the small sweet up and handed it to the royal girl.

"Ah, thank you." - she accepted the cake - "Hm... Here goes nothing, I guess." - she took a bite of the sweet and savored it - "Oh! Wow! It really is delicious!"

"Your Highness, we'd not lie to you when you requested an honest opinion." - another servant said.

"See, dear Piper? You should trust yourself more. You're capable of much more than you might think." - the old lady smiled at her - "I know that because I've watched you grow up. Seeing you now brings tears to my eyes. You're going to be a wonderful Queen."

The Princess was surprised by her comment, then she looked around and saw the rest of the staff seemed to agree with the sous-chef. The counselor poured some wine on a glass and lifted it.

"To our future Queen." - he said.

"To our future Queen!" - all of the others shouted, lifting their own glasses of wine.

Piper was nearly tearing up from happiness.

"Oh, you... Thank you all so much..." - she rubbed her gloved hand against her face as if she were drying up her unshed tears - "I love all of you."

"And we love you, Princess. You're the light in our lives." - the chef said.

All of them enjoyed that heartwarming moment. For an instant, it almost felt as if that was going to be the last time they'd share a moment like that. Something none of them knew, though, was that maybe it would be the last time they'd spend some time together, for climbing the edge of the Terra was a Night Crawler squadron, that attempted to get there as stealthily as possible. Nobody would expect them to come from below. They managed to get to the surface or the Terra and hid. The innocent people from the small kingdom didn't even suspect the danger lurking in the shadows so close to them.

Inside the castle, all the servants had gathered the plates, silverware, and glasses and were heading for the kitchen.

"Tonight, leave the dishwashing to me." - Piper told them.

"But, Your Highness, that's a huge pile of plates, we can't just let you do that work all alone." - a maid spoke.

"Don't worry about that. I've been practicing something and I wanted to show you." - the Princess said.

She pulled out a Levitation crystal and a Geyser crystal. She used the long purple stone to make all the dishes float in the air, then she concentrated on the small blue crystal and proceeded to release small, quick and powerful shots of water from it. The impact of the water completely cleaned the dishes. It was definitely a lot faster than washing them conventionally, and it was just as effective.

"Your Highness is a genius!" - one maid commented to the other.

They helped the Princess by picking up the clean plates, drying them up and placing them inside the counter. Within a few minutes, the whole pile of dishes was over and all the plates and silverware had been properly stored. After that, everyone went back to their posts and the Princess headed for her room. She got inside and locked the door behind her, then she walked past the table where she had found Aerrow's note. She could see the marked area where her portrait used to be. She sighed. She hoped he'd be okay. He was all alone out there, seeking revenge on the one who had killed his father. She knew what it was like to lose someone... But there was no way she could know the feeling of having a loved person taken away by the hands of another. Her parents had died from natural causes, so she had no idea of what it meant to know the responsible for your family's death was still alive and well after the atrocity they committed.

She looked at the night sky through the opening to her balcony. Was it unfair? Definitely. But... Was that an excuse to allow someone to commit just as evil an act as killing the one who assassinated their family in order to avenge them? Didn't that just make them murderers themselves? One thing she learned from that: the world wasn't black and white. There were shades of gray everywhere. He... He couldn't be judged for that. His reasons were understandable. Yet... The fear of imagining him turning into the monster... That was terrifying. She could only hope he'd not bring his own demise upon himself with that.

The Princess breathed in slowly and headed to her bed when suddenly, a loud explosion shook her tower. She almost lost balance, then, a few seconds later, her counselor and some guards opened the door to her room abruptly, even breaking the lock in the process.

"Your Highness! We have trouble." - the counselor said - "We are under attack!"

She blinked.

"What?!" - she quickly went to the balcony to take a look outside.

There were several men in black hoods and armor flying around in strange bat looking gliders with boosters that were attached to their armor. The guards were shooting at them with their crystal lances, but they could only do so much. The enemy soldiers weren't even bothered by their attacks. They flew near the guards, knocking them out of the castle to their deaths mercilessly. The Princess put her hands in front of her mouth as she gasped in horror. Those... Monsters! They were killing everyone, even the unarmed people!

* * *

 

The Condor was floating in the sky, hidden not too far from Terra Solaris. Aerrow laid in his bed, his arms serving as a pillow for his head. He stared at the ceiling in thought. Piper's words from that morning still rang in his ears. _"Do you really think that's what your father would have wanted?"_ His eyelids fell a little and he glanced downwards at nowhere specifically. Was it? Was his father proud of him acting like that? Were his people happy with what he had become? He briefly looked at the portrait beside his bed. He sat, then picked it up, looking at the two photos of the Princess. He frowned.

"What am I doing?" - he sighed as he questioned himself.

What was wrong with him? Why couldn't he move on like a normal person? Why couldn't he get through his thick skull that the world didn't work like that? That vengeance wasn't the answer. And why couldn't he ignore that urge to... To... Just... What kind of urge was that now? He had never felt that way before. He looked at the sky through a small hole in his patched up wall and noticed it was already night. He hadn't realized he had lingered way too long in that place. He put the portrait back beside his bed and walked out of the bedroom, heading for the bridge.

"Radarr, we're leaving." - he said from the corridor to warn his friend.

The little animal came running from the kitchen and entered the bridge along with the Sky Knight. The young man started the engine and proceeded to move the ship away slowly. Soon he'd hit the high-speed impeller just to get out of that place as quickly as possible before he started to second guess himself. However, a bird came in from the solar roof and crashed on the ground, startling both of them. He knelt near it, and the co-pilot watched from behind the teenager.

"It's another messenger bird from Terra Solaris. And it's badly hurt!" - he commented on the fact the bird was bleeding from its right wing and was breathing heavily - "There's a message crystal tied on its leg."

He hesitantly grabbed the crystal. That injured bird could only mean bad news. He felt scared of what message that crystal contained. Yet, he had to know. He activated the crystal and a purple hologram appeared in front of him.

_There was a guard holding the crystal in his hand. The man was standing behind a wall as if he were trying to hide from something. Then he looked upwards, and unconsciously made the crystal record what he saw. Two Night Crawlers knocked a few guards off the castle tower, then the ground shook as a loud explosion was heard._

_"They're coming!" - the guard shouted - "Here... Go find that young Sky Knight. We're in trouble!" - he said as he knelt on the ground and tied the message crystal on the bird's leg - "Hurry!" - he yelled at the bird._

_Another loud explosion happened right beside them and the hologram ended there._

"Night Crawlers!" - Aerrow gasped.

Then he looked at the messenger animal. The bird was most likely hurt in the blast. Luckily, it wasn't shot down by the Night Crawlers. Poor thing was in a lot of pain there.

"Thanks for bringing this to me." - he said as he picked the bird up and placed it on top of the round table in the bridge, then Radarr handed him a piece of cloth so he could wrap it around its wing - "We'll go there to help against the invasion. Just stay here."

The young Sky Knight ran to the hangar bay, Radarr close on his heels. He climbed on his skimmer and after the animal jumped on the cockpit, the two shot out into the sky. They flew in low altitude in order to conceal themselves among the clouds.

They silently approached the Terra and circled it in order to scan the area. There were several Night Crawlers wreaking havoc in the kingdom. He knew they all had gone there because of him... He gave away those people's hideout location, and now they were paying a price they didn't deserve. He clenched a fist. He couldn't let that happen. He had to help them!

He found a more secluded location and landed there. Then he and Radarr stealthily made their way through the gardens until they arrived near the main tower. Aerrow looked up to see if he found any sign of the Princess.

"There she is!" - he whispered to himself as he sighted her in the balcony.

She was attempting to blast the enemy soldiers from the sky with a few crystals she had in hands. She shot at them multiple times, but they were way too fast.

"This isn't going to work. I need the crystals from the secret cave." - she said to one of her guards.

"I'll go get a small group to help escort you there, Your Highness!" - the guard responded, but as soon as he turned around to leave the balcony, a Night Crawler flew at him, knocking him off the tower.

"NO!" - the Princess screamed as she bent against the edge of the balcony and reached an arm out for him.

The poor man just fell to his death and there was nothing the girl could do. She clenched her fists and glared at the dark soldier.

"You... How dare you do that to him?!" - she shouted at him angrily, then shot out a charged bolt of energy that destroyed his armor and skyride in the process.

She stared at the falling Night Crawler triumphantly, but she soon frowned. What a victory... Nothing had ever felt so bitter in her life. However, she didn't even have time to mourn her loyal servants, for another enemy approached the balcony and shot at the crystals she was holding, pulverizing them.

No longer able to defend herself, the Princess just watched as the Night Crawler flew away to cause more destruction in her kingdom. She heard the sound of something hitting the wall very near her: it was a grappling hook... Well, more of a claw actually. She gasped: the noise of a skyride climbing the wall of the tower really fast was terrifying. That was it... She couldn't believe her kingdom would be conquered that way... And she was completely helpless.

From where he was observing the situation, Aerrow saw the danger the Princess was in and decided to intervene. He pulled out his swords and proceeded to run around the tower until he had enough speed to walk on the wall easily.

"Don't you dare lay your hands on her!" - he shouted at the Night Crawler.

Piper heard his voice and turned to look at where it had come from. She saw him running on the wall as fast as a lightning bolt, the only thing giving away his position was the stream of blue light coming from his twin blades as he moved very quickly.

As precise as an arrow, he slashed the metallic rope the enemy soldier was using to climb on the tower, causing him to fall. He deployed his skyride's wings and flew away. The Sky Knight used the rope to swing his way up until he had enough momentum, then he let go of it, backflipped to push himself upwards and landed on top of the edge of the balcony.

"You came back!" - she said excitedly as she clenched her hands in front of her heart.

He stared at her for a moment, then looked away awkwardly.

"Actually I hadn't left yet... And once I found out you were under attack, I just couldn't leave you like that..." - he rubbed the back of his head.

She smiled gratefully at him, then a loud explosion drew their attention.

"They're destroying the city!" - she gasped worried about her people - "I have to get to the secret cave!"

"Where's the cave?" - he asked her.

"It's on the other side of the Terra." - she told him.

Oh, on the other side of the Terra... Well, that was very convenient...

"Lead the way, I'll cover you." - he said as he lit up his blades again.

She nodded as they both ran inside the castle and headed for the stairs.

"There's an underground passage in the first floor that'll take us to a clearing very close to the cave." - she explained, then she blinked as she heard the hissing sound of a Night Crawler.

She let out a short scream as she put her hands in front of herself protectively. The soldier jumped at her, but before he could even get close enough to her, Aerrow dashed at him and pushed him against the wall, knocking him out. Then he tossed the enemy through the hole in the wall that served as a window.

"Keep going, Princess." - he told her as he finished throwing the Night Crawler out.

She nodded and ran ahead, he followed her close behind.

"And where's your little friend?" - she asked after noticing the animal companion wasn't with him.

"Radarr is taking care of a few Night Crawlers outside the tower. I'll let him know we're going to the cave." - the Sky Knight put two fingers on a tiny device that was attached to his ear - "Radarr, meet me in front of the secret cave. It's on the other side of the Terra. Try to make sure no one follows you."

Upon hearing the chirp of agreement from his co-pilot, he turned off his earpiece.

"What's that?" - she referred to the device in his ear.

"It's a communicator. Radarr and I use it to talk when we're far apart." - he explained.

"Hm... What's the point of he having a microphone on his if he can't talk, though?" - she questioned him.

"He can hear me and give me a heads up on something. We kind of have a code." - he shrugged - "You should have a communicator too. I'm sure it'd come in handy."

"Yeah, well, I do intend to push my kingdom to the modern times a little..." - she said shyly - "It's not fair that we should stay behind because of the war. We need to move forward too."

He stared at her in sympathy. No, it wasn't fair... But then again, was anything fair during a war? He could understand her view on the matter. There was never an excuse for a war to happen. All it did was bring pain and suffering to both sides and everyone else caught on it. There were no winners in that situation, only survivors. He looked at the ground. The sooner that age ended, the better.

They ran until Piper stopped on the first floor and reached inside a small hole on the wall, only big enough for her hand to fit. She grabbed on a lever hidden inside the wall and pulled it, revealing a secret passage that led underground.

"Yeah... That definitely will do for a cover." - Aerrow commented.

"Hidden alternative passages are a more common thing than you think." - the Princess told him - "If I were to list all the side paths from this kingdom I'd be talking about it all night."

"Your family does think ahead, huh?" - he said.

"They're a little... Overprotective." - she admitted.

"Heh... I can see why." - he smiled at her.

She looked back at him in a way that made him realize that he sounded just a tiny little bit way too suggestive, to the point that even she noticed.

"You... Can...?" - she asked quietly.

He blinked awkwardly at that.

"I mean, they are your parents, of course they'd do everything to protect you, it's just natural." - he attempted to make the subject more casual as he avoided direct eye contact.

She stared blankly at him for a brief moment, then just smiled. Lucky him she didn't try to question him any further. C'mon, Aerrow, behave yourself! They kept moving forward, there was even a point in which the underground tunnel was pitch black and the only light source was his blades.

"I believe this is the right door..." - the Princess spoke as she touched the wall, looking for the hidden handle.

When she felt it, she turned it and a passage was open in the ceiling, revealing the night sky from the outside. Aerrow joined his hands in front of himself to give her a boost. Once she climbed out, he jumped and grabbed on the edge of the hole on the ground, then pushed himself up.

"The cave is right ahead of us, at the base of the hill." - she said.

They walked a few steps forward, Aerrow looked around to see if he spotted Radarr. Suddenly they heard a low chirp coming from behind them. They turned around and saw the animal coming out of some bushes.

"Perfect timing, buddy." - the Sky Knight knelt on the ground so the little guy could climb on his shoulder.

"You're a smart little thing." - Piper complimented the co-pilot, who churred shyly in return.

Finally, they headed for the cave. But when they were nearly there, they saw something coming towards them, so they quickly hid behind a tree. The remaining Night Crawlers who hadn't been taken down had managed to figure out the location of the secret cave and they intended to steal its crystals.

"Don't leave anything behind." - one of them, a red-eyed soldier, said to the others.

That one was clearly their leader since the rest of them all had purple eyes. Piper gasped silently from where she was hiding.

"Those crystals are our only chance of defending the Terra! We can't let those thieves take them." - she whispered to Aerrow.

"And we won't." - he said determinedly - "Stay here, Radarr and I will distract them so you can go to the cave unnoticed."

He and the animal ran towards a bush and then hid behind a rock, in order to avoid drawing attention to the Princess when they charged at the Night Crawlers. The moment they saw the first few enemy soldiers coming out of the cave with a bunch of crystals in their arms and some others about to enter the cave, the two got out of their cover.

"Hey, over here!" - Aerrow shouted.

The red-eyed leader blinked.

"It's that rogue Sky Knight! After him!" - he commanded the others.

They all shot at the teenager. He smoothly leaped out of the way and was about to draw out his blades when something exploded behind him: a leech crystal. It absorbed all the energy from his swords, hindering his weapons temporarily useless. Yeah... That was just great...

"Fine! Two can play that way!" - he said.

He dashed over to one of the Night Crawlers. They shot at him in retaliation, but he jumped in the air and landed a flying kick to the dark soldier's chest, knocking him down, then punched him in the face. He took the chance to stomp on the gun attached to the enemy's armor, crushing it in several pieces.

Radarr chirped and gave him two thumbs up. Haha, his boy wasn't going to be the only one without weapons there! Then he heard a few bolts of energy coming his way and dodged them all. Okay... That was a little bit too close for comfort. Aerrow noticed that and used his disabled sword as a big shuriken: he threw it in a way that it started to spin really fast.

The blade flew towards the Night Crawlers and its sharp part connected with the weapons attached to their armor with such precision that all of them were immediately disarmed. They blinked surprised: they didn't see that one coming.

"You do know that the blade doesn't need to be activated to cut, right?" - the young Sky Knight smirked.

The co-pilot threw his fist in the air. Alright! Hehe, without those weapons, they couldn't do anything. The animal turned to one of the Night Crawlers and growled at him. He leaped at him, attempting to gnaw at his face, then, as the enemy fell on the ground, he bit his arm, immobilizing him. Oh, yeah, bet that would teach him a lesson!

Aerrow didn't fall behind: he charged at one of the soldiers and punched him with all his might. He kept him in a stagger lock, preventing him from retaliating.

Unnoticed by the Night Crawler squadron, the Princess tiptoed her way into the secret cave. She had to find the necessary material to come up with a good defense, but the enemies had managed to gather most of the useful crystals, and they were scattered in the middle of the mess that was the fight outside. She sighed until she noticed two Solar Crystals lying on the ground behind a small rock. She smiled. Well... That was certainly convenient.

Outside, Aerrow and Radarr were easily taking care of the Night Crawlers. The squadron couldn't do anything to get away from them. The enemies' leader noticed that and glared at the two. That was enough! He pulled out a red crystal and tossed it away. It fell between the young Sky Knight and a soldier he was fighting against.

He and the co-pilot looked at it surprised when they heard pulsating sound coming from it. Oh no... The crystal blew up, unleashing a very strong shockwave that threw both of them in the air. However, the Night Crawlers were unaffected, so one of them took the chance to jump at Aerrow.

When the boy hit his back against a rocky wall, the soldier landed right in front of him and grabbed him by the collar. Poor Radarr dizzily lifted his head from where he laid on top of a small rock, several Night Crawlers surrounded him and had the claws from their armor ready to strike if he tried anything.

"Finish him off." - the red-eyed leader said to the one holding onto Aerrow's collar.

The purple-eyed enemy smirked and was about to strangle him when a shout drew everyone's attention.

"Leave them alone!" - the Princess yelled.

She was standing in front of the cave with two yellow crystals in her hands. She lifted them above her heard and rammed them against each other, causing them to shoot out a lot of bright light. The Night Crawlers immediately covered their faces, trying to shield themselves from the intense light. They cringed in pain as if the light burned them.

"Retreat at this instant!" - the leader ordered.

All of the dark hooded enemies ran to the edge of the Terra, deployed their wings and flew away without slowing down. Radarr chirped and shook a fist at them. Ha! Take that you bastards! Piper giggled at that then glanced confidently at Aerrow. He smiled and nodded in return. That... Was amazing... She scared all the soldiers away without breaking a sweat!

"That was a lot easier than I expected." - he commented as he approached her.

She was about to respond when she noticed something on him and frowned.

"Your arm... You've hurt yourself." - she said with a worried tone in her voice.

He followed her stare, causing him to look at his right arm and then saw there was a hole on his uniform right above his elbow and his skin was burned.

"Oh, this? It doesn't hurt, I hadn't even realized it was there." - he shrugged.

"Still... Let me heal you." - she pulled out a tiny green crystal.

He stared blankly at her for a moment, then relaxed as she held his arm up so she could use the crystal on it. The tiny glimmering rock shone a light on his injury, quickly regenerating his skin and healing it. Not only that but it also proceeded to reconstruct his uniform until the hole was no longer there.

"Wow... A Nil Crystal!" - he was astonished - "You really are something else, Princess."

She smiled softly as she finished up, then she shyly looked at him.

"Hm... Would you like to spend the night here?" - she asked him - "You must be exhausted after all the fighting."

He blinked. He wasn't expecting that.

"Sure!" - he replied right away and instantly regretted it - "I mean... If it won't be a problem, that is." - he quickly amended.

"Of course not, we have plenty of room in the castle." - she told him - "Let's find you nice accommodations."

Aerrow felt as if time had stopped for a brief millisecond. Woah! She was actually inviting him to spend the night in the castle? He had thought he'd stay at an inn or something. But apparently, she had everything planned out in her mind...

"Right behind you..." - he grinned as he followed her.

Radarr caught up with them in seconds. The little guy smirked knowingly at his friend as he shook his head. And Aerrow seemed to have gotten the message, for he recovered his composure immediately. He was lucky the Princess hadn't noticed how obviously suggestive his stare was. He just couldn't help himself, could he?


	5. Dazedly in Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Implied smut in this chapter.

* * *

**Chapter V**

**Dazedly in Love**

The night had passed and the sun was rising from behind the horizon. The sunlight entered Aerrow's accommodations through the thin curtains and woke him up. He stood up and stretched himself, then painfully rubbed his back. Man, he had never slept in such a soft bed. His back was aching like hell, he really wasn't used to it. Radarr, on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying the fluffy mattress. It was like sleeping on a cloud!

Aerrow smiled at his buddy and decided to let him sleep. And it was then that he heard it: the faint sound of someone singing. That was the most beautiful voice he ever had the pleasure to hear. He put on his boots but didn't bother with his armor, then he left the room.

The sound was a little bit clearer. He tried to figure out where it was coming from. He walked by the corridors until he found a small living room with two guards blocking a passage that led to a stairway. The very area where the sound was coming from. He approached them, and they crossed their spears in front of the path.

"Halt. This entrance is for executive castle personnel only." - they said in unison.

"Executive personnel, so not even you can go in there?" - he asked.

"We are members of the Princess' guard, so we may go there." - the one on the right told him.

"But the Princess has requested to be alone, so we're not supposed to disturb her unless necessary." - the one on the left explained.

Oh, so it was the Princess who was singing! Wow! Her voice sounded even prettier than he remembered! But apparently, he wasn't allowed there. Still...

"So you're going to just sit here? What if something happens to her while you're not watching? How can you be that irresponsible?!" - he tried to appeal to their guilt. But that didn't seem to work.

"The Princess is no damsel in distress, young Sky Knight." - the first guard said.

"She's a very talented Crystal Mage. Much more powerful than you can imagine." - the second one completed.

"I'm not saying she can't defend herself, but what if she's overwhelmed? We could give her a little help." - he suggested.

"You have noble intentions, but Your Highness won't be needing us anytime soon." - the guard said.

"Besides, if anything happens to her, we'll know." - the other one pulled out a kind of necklace with a blue crystal - "If the Princess feels threatened, scared, is sick or harmed in any way, this crystal amulet flickers."

"That's... Incredible. I didn't know you had access to this." - the teenager commented.

"Yes, we're fully aware of the Princess' safety. Now, please, move along. We need to go back to work." - the guard on the right told him.

"Okay, okay, I'm leaving." - Aerrow said nonchalantly.

Looks like he had no way to get up there... Unless... He took a quick glance at the guards again before turning around the corner and walking into another hallway. He managed to identify the most prominent details on their armor. Yeah... They didn't look like any guards alright. Their armor was quite distinctive from the others.

He walked around as if he were just minding his own business in order to lower any suspicions towards him. His eyes scanned the places he went to in search of a member of the Princess guard. He found one near a table right outside the kitchen. He quickly hid behind a wall on the corridor he had come from so he could observe him.

The man was drinking some tea or something like that. While he wasn't particularly paying too much attention to his surroundings, he didn't exactly have his guard down. Darn it! He walked backward so the guard wouldn't spot his head poking out from the corner. If there was just something he could do to... He suddenly bumped into something: a glass bottle. It nearly fell on the ground, hadn't he ducked just in time to grab it.

He sighed in relief that he didn't draw attention to himself, then he noticed something on the bottle: it was a wine bottle., and a pretty strong one. He smirked. The answer was in his hand. Now he had to figure out a way to make his plan work. He walked out of his hiding place very casually.

"Hey, there, what is it you're drinking?" - he asked the guard.

"It's blue leaf tea." - the man replied - "I got the last cup they had left."

Damn it! Plan A was foiled on the get-go! Time for Plan B.

"Cool. Do they still have any tea left?" - he questioned.

"That was the last cup." - an assistant of the chef said to him.

He frowned. Plan B was just ruined as well.

"We can get you something else instead. Try this." - another assistant said as she gave him a very big glass of what looked like juice mixed up with syrup.

"Thanks." - he accepted the glass and smiled nervously upon receiving a few suggestive looks from the servants.

Did they have a thing for him or something? They were staring at him and giggling to themselves like he was eye candy... He pushed that thought aside, though, so he could focus on his task. Time to work around. He took a sip and realized that beverage had a way too soft taste, it'd not conceal the strong wine. Plan C was a goner too.

"It's... Quite good actually." - he commented.

The servants squeaked then immediately shut their mouths, recovered their composure and awkwardly went back to the kitchen.

"Heh, you've just won a pair of hearts there. Being young and a Sky Knight has its perks, huh?" - the guard spoke, to which Aerrow chuckled sheepishly, then the man nodded to his glass - "Can I try it? I'll give you some of mine."

"Sure." - the teenager handed him the glass and took the cup.

Plan D, if that didn't work... He took a sip. Goddamnit! Wow! That thing tasted worse than pure alcohol! That was perfect! He kept one hand behind his back to quickly reach the wine bottle when needed. He set the cup on the table.

"Yeah... This here was too much for me." - he said as he felt his chest burning inside.

The guard laughed.

"You're still too soft for that one, kid." - the man said to him, not noticing how the young green-eyed one discreetly poured a good amount of wine into his cup - "This here is just way too sweet. I prefer the bitter ones." - he gave the glass back to Aerrow.

"I hear you. One day I'll get used to stuff even more bitter, then we can have a match." - the Sky Knight said.

"You better be prepared, I'm a veteran at this. I've won three contests in a row." - the guard told him as he drank all the cup of tea in one go.

Aerrow blinked wide-eyed, he was actually worried about that maybe being an overdose of beverage... It wasn't like he wanted to kill that man... To his relief though, the man shrugged that off like it was nothing. Until a few seconds later he passed out completely drunk. The Sky Knight had to grab him, or he'd fall and hit his head on the ground.

As quickly as possible, the teenager dragged the man's body to a broom closet and closed the door behind them. He took the guy's armor and wore it himself. It wasn't perfect, plus, he'd have to wear a helmet… He hated helmets… He walked out of the closet and left the door very slightly open. He made his way to another corridor very fast, so he'd avoid being linked to the passed out guard inside the broom closet so soon. Now he just needed an excuse to get past the guards. Eh… He'd think of that on the way there, no problem. But then…

"Hey, you!" - a voice called him.

He froze on spot, then slowly turned to see who was addressing him. It was the counselor. The old man looked solemn as always. He was holding many scrolls under one of his arms, on the other, he was holding a letter.

"Y-Yes, sir?" - Aerrow responded.

"Take this to the Princess. She needs to attend a reunion about rebuilding the city and the castle." - the counselor gave him the letter - "We'll have to put most of our men on the civil work to finish this quickly, so we need to discuss what to do to keep up our defenses until then."

"Uh… Sure! I'll go fetch her right away, sir!" - the teenager saluted him then bolted off to the private area.

The man blinked. Did he just say he was going to _fetch_ her? Nobody ever dared to speak that way, so impolite and nonchalant! That was odd… He was suspicious, but he was also very busy, so he'd have to see into that later.

Aerrow rushed to the small hallway. That was great, now that the perfect opportunity had just landed in his hands he'd not have to think of an excuse! When he sighted the hallway, he stopped running. He observed how the guards acted so he could imitate them. He walked in on his best guard impersonation. He stood in front of the guards and cleared his throat.

"The counselor has requested me to bring this to the Princess." - he said with a lower-pitched voice, in order to sound older.

They verified the counselor's seal on the letter, so they knew only the Princess was allowed to read that.

"She's on the terrace upstairs." - they told him as they walked out of the way so he could pass.

He saluted them and went in. He climbed the stairs until he was finally outside. He looked behind him to see if anyone had followed him. Nobody in sight. Perfect. He pulled his helmet out and tossed it on the ground.

"Finally. That thing was smelling like old wine." - he said, then he looked up at his hair and frowned annoyed - "Aww… No wonder I hate wearing helmets."

He quickly ran his hand by his hair to put it back the way he liked it, then headed for the terrace. He climbed a few steps and saw the Princess across the balcony watching some birds. There were many of them! And they didn't fly away scared even though she was leaning over where they had landed. They actually would come near her because of her singing voice and her charming soul.

The moment Aerrow stepped on the balcony, though, the birds got startled and flew towards the sun. Piper stopped singing as she saw them going away, then she stared at him. Neither of them said a word. She looked downwards in thought then watched the birds disappearing in the distance. After a moment of silence, the Sky Knight walked closer to her.

"Sorry if I'm interrupting." - he began.

"No need to apologize." - she said.

Another silent instant passed, this time she was the one breaking it.

"Hm… This area is supposed to be private, my guards probably wouldn't let you in so… How did you get here?" - she asked him.

"Uh… Well, I kind of had to knock out one of the guards…" - he told her as he rubbed the back of his head, causing her to look at him worried - "He's alright though, he just got very drunk. He should be fine when he wakes up… Except for the awful hangover."

After being assured the guard wasn't really injured, she felt relieved.

"You went through all that trouble just to come here?" - she giggled.

"If there's a chance to see you again I have to take it." - he admitted, which made her cheeks grow rosy - "It's not like I can stay here forever, so…"

"About that…" - she said - "I have to thank you for what you did for me and my Terra. If it weren't for you, Terra Solaris would've been conquered by the Cyclonians. You have my eternal gratitude."

"Don't worry about that. It was the least I could do after ruining your cover. I wish I could do something about that so no Cyclonian will come bother you again." - he replied, then he remembered one thing - "By the way, the counselor gave me this when he thought I was a guard. It's about a reunion to discuss what's going to become of the Terra's defenses. If there's any way I can help..." - he handed her the letter.

"Hm… I have that one covered." - she told him.

"You do?" - he asked.

"Yes. Come to the meeting room at midday and you'll find out." - she said to him - "I'll go get what will be needed."

He watched as she walked away, climbing down the stairs. He remained in the balcony for a moment, until he realized he had lost the helmet somewhere in the terrace so he couldn't go back the way he came from. He took off the armor and left it on a stone bench, then he looked down through the edge of the balcony. No way he'd be able to climb that wall down. Lucky him he always wore his glider. He jumped from the terrace, diving in the sky, then opened the retractable wings, using the wind to glide back to the balcony of his room. Once he landed there, he had to do some lockpicking to open the window so he could get inside.

Radarr was still sound asleep. He looked so peaceful and comfy, but Aerrow had to wake him up so they could go to the reunion that was going to happen in 15 minutes.

"Hey, wake up, buddy. We have some work to do." - the Sky Knight whispered as he softly pushed the little animal's back.

The co-pilot lifted his head groggily. Was he sleepy! He yawned and stretched his limbs a little. Ah, much better. He chirped, greeting his friend, then climbed on his shoulder. The two of them headed for the meeting room. When they arrived, the counselor, the mayor, a few engineers and guards and the Princess were all present, standing around a roundtable.

"Aerrow, Radarr, glad you made it in time. We were about to start." - she said to them as she placed a bunch of crystals of different shades of purple on the table.

The red-haired teenager sat down on the chair between the mayor and one engineer, Radarr sitting in his lap. The first one pulled out some papers and tapped them against the table.

"Your Highness, we've listed all the damage that has been done to the city and the neighbor village in here." - he handed her the papers - "As you can see it'll take a while to rebuild everything."

"Yes, that's why the Princess has agreed on sending most of the guards on civil construction duty." - the counselor informed him - "They'll stay in the city until everything has been completely fixed. However, with that we have one issue: the Terra's defenses are lowered. And that's what we need to discuss."

"Maybe we could scatter a few guards on key points in the perimeter." - the chief engineer said.

"If we were to do that we'd not have enough guards to help you rebuild." - the leader of the castle guard told him - "We've lost many in the invasion."

"Hm... May I suggest one thing?" - Aerrow suddenly spoke - "Instead of using manpower for the defense, you could try coming up with something more automatic... Like crystal infused canon towers and some kind of force field. You could get at those upgrades while you're rebuilding."

"That's a pretty good idea. The problem is not staying completely defenseless while we're at it." - one of the engineers said.

"I've thought about that and I have worked on a solution." - Piper began - "We need to become truly concealed, so I've come up with something new and effective: a cloaking warp shield."

The engineers blinked. Wow, that was really smart! However, the rest of the room wasn't that into crystals, so they didn't know what the Princess was getting at.

"Your Highness, how exactly does that shield work?" - the mayor asked.

"Let me demonstrate." - she picked a golden statue and placed it on the table - "We need three crystals for this: a cloaking crystal, a shielding crystal, and a warp crystal." - she pointed at each crystal as she spoke - "First, we place a force field around the Terra using the shielding crystal." - she activated it and a purple spherical shield appeared around the statue - "Then we use the warp crystal to alter the shield's properties so anything that attempts to go through it will be teleported to the other side instead." - she unleashed the energy of the crystal on the shield until it glowed a little for a few seconds, then she moved her hand through the shield, showing everyone how her fingers appeared on the other side of the sphere, instead of going through it and reaching the statue - "And finally, we use the cloaking crystal to conceal the castle from sight. Thanks to the warping properties of the shield, nobody will even think there's something hidden there." - she told them as she made the statue and the shield invisible.

"Wow... But, that's a permanent solution to any possible safety problem! I can't believe we haven't tried anything like this before." - the leader of the Princess guard said.

"My parents had noble intentions when attempting to prevent the Terra from using crystals and draw attention, but they went the wrong way about how to conceal it." - the girl commented - "We shouldn't stay behind. We should evolve beyond the other Terras."

"Our Princess is right. Upgrading our defenses is the best course of action at the moment." - the counselor agreed.

"We'll begin the preparation right away, Your Highness." - the engineers said.

"One more thing." - Piper began - "I have come up with this idea to keep the Terra safe while I'm away."

"What do you mean, Your Highness?" - a guard asked.

She turned to Aerrow.

"You assisted me in saving my Terra from the Cyclonian clutches. You came to our rescue when we needed the most. And I wanted to return what you did for me." - she said - "You're in need of help with something, so I have decided to join you in your quest."

"You... You'll come?" - his voice came out almost like a whisper - "But I thought..."

"I know." - she guessed what he was getting at - "I don't approve of that. But I see you still haven't let it go. You need help. So I'll join you until you have sorted this out, whether you go through with it until the end or if you manage to move on. After you've saved us, this is the least I could do."

Aerrow and Radarr grinned.

"Thanks, Princess." - he said.

Everyone else was speechless. But none of them dared to defy the Princess. It was her decision to make, plus, she had already solved all their problems, and as for the Sky Knight... He did save them all. If it weren't for him, they'd probably not be there in that reunion in the first place.

"Well... I believe the reunion is over, then. Everyone knows what to do." - the counselor said.

"Yes. I'll leave you in charge while I am gone. Keep everything organized, okay? I'll count on you." - she told him.

"Of course, Your Highness." - he bowed down - "Everyone back to work."

As the guards, engineers, the mayor, and the counselor left, Piper gathered the crystals she had brought to the meeting room and put them all on a small bag.

"Looks like you've got everything worked out." - Aerrow commented - "Guess you don't even need me anymore."

"Hey, don't say that. And even if it were true, that doesn't mean you couldn't come to visit me." - the Princess said - "Also... If you wish, you could stay and train your own Sky Knight squadron for the Terra, since yours..." - she trailed off and shyly blinked - "Hm... What I mean is... If you ever feel like having a Terra for a home again, you're welcome here."

He blinked surprised at that, a warm feeling settling down inside his heart. He had not expected to hear that from her so soon after what happened the morning before.

"Wow, I'm honored you think I'm worthy, Princess." - the red-haired teenager smiled.

"Of course you are. You're the most honorable Sky Knight I've ever heard of. And believe me, I have read about many." - she told him - "I... I just hope that wasn't asking too much. You probably have your own plans in mind too, so I don't want you to feel obligated nor anything."

"No, not at all, don't worry about that." - he assured her - "I'd gladly stay here. Once the war is over, I'll be your Sky Knight, Princess."

The Princess held her clenched hands in front of her heart, a bright smile and a soft blush graced her features. And he just loved seeing her look at him like that. It was the first time he ever felt that fond of someone he had just met so quickly.

"Well... I better go pack a few things." - she rubbed her arm shyly - "Meet you at the docks by 3 o'clock?"

"Sure." - he nodded.

Piper left the room with the small bag of crystals and headed for her bedroom. Aerrow decided to quickly go to the Condor and make things a little tidier, he didn't want to embarrass himself in front of the Princess. After seeing how clean and organized was her castle, he couldn't let her see the mess that was his ship. The teenager and Radarr made it to their carrier ship in a few minutes. They went in and grabbed some brooms, sponges, soap, and water to clean the whole place. They worked on every single pipe, bolt, and nail of the ship. Once they were done, there wasn't a place in which you couldn't see your own reflection.

"Now _that_ 's clean!" - the red-haired teenager said as he gestured to the sparkling bridge.

Radarr nodded in agreement and wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand-like paw. Aerrow noticed that and it was then that he realized they were smelling like sweat mixed with soap.

"I guess we better get ourselves cleaned up too, buddy." - he said.

The animal raised an imaginary eyebrow, but then he finally felt his own smell and... Oh, God! That was awful! He had to cover his nose before it'd start bleeding and the smell would knock him out cold. The Sky Knight dragged his companion to the bathtub to help him out. The teenager scrubbed the co-pilot's fur as if the little guy were a pet dog being bathed by their owner. Radarr got angry at that, though, so he took the brush from the boy's hand and proceeded to scrub himself on his own.

"Well, you take care of yourself then, Mr. I'm-not-a-pet. I'll go take a shower." - Aerrow crossed his arms smiling in amusement - "Just don't make a mess when you get out." - he then left for the smaller bathroom.

He picked up a towel and a spare uniform in his room, then headed for the bathroom. He carefully placed his clean clothes on the handler before he tossed his dirty ones through a pipe that led to the laundry room. He walked under the shower and let quite the hot water to pour down on his head. Well, hot baths are supposed to calm you down and make you relax, so... He figured it'd be a good idea to go for one.

He cleaned himself very thoroughly and quickly. That was definitely a whole new routine, he had never been that careful before. Guess the Princess happened for a good reason: she was changing him for the better, even though she had no idea of that. Soon he was done and dressed on his spare uniform. He dried his hair with a towel when he finally caught sight of the clock on the wall of the bridge: it was 3 o'clock!

"Radarr! Are you ready yet? The Princess is coming here right now!" - the Sky Knight shouted, then he looked out of the window of the bridge and saw someone coming from the distance - "She's already here!"

He bolted down the corridor, tossing his towel on the handler in his room and went straight to the hangar bay where he lowered the ramp in order to let the Princess come inside. He ran outside and waited for her.

"Aerrow!" - she said to him as she came running as fast as she could - "Sorry to keep you waiting. It took me a while to find suitable traveling clothes that'd not give away my identity so fast."

She was wearing a yellow, blue and brown shirt, light blue pants that ended right after her knees, light brown boots, blue gloves that went up to her shoulders and covered only her middle and ringer fingers, an orange hairband that held her hair upwards and a blue crystal hanging from her necklace sitting around her neck. She also held a purple backpack.

He couldn't help but stare her down. Her outfit was quite skintight, unlike the dress she used to wear, so that was the first time he had ever been able to properly see her... Forms. Her long legs complemented her thin waist and soft curves just perfectly. A moment later he realized he had been quiet for way too long, so he quickly thought of something to say before she'd ask him if there was anything wrong.

"It's okay! Radarr and I were patching some things up on the ship, we've just finished." - he told her - "A-and y-you look great!"

"Thank you." - she shyly replied - "Would you mind showing me around the ship?"

"No, sure. Here, let me help you with your luggage." - he said as he took her backpack from her hand, so she'd not have to carry anything and would be free to move.

They climbed the ramp to the hangar and went inside it. Aerrow turned the lights on and lifted the ramp behind them.

"So here's where you keep your skyride." - the Princess said as she noticed his skimmer parked on the back of the room.

"Yeah, it's the hangar bay. It also leads to the uniform lockers and the generator panel on the ship." - he explained - "And behind this hatch here is the landing strip."

He opened the hatch so she could get a view of the strip. Her eyes lit up at the sight of the landing strip. That was certainly incredible...

"So you run on this whenever you take off, right?" - she commented - "I don't know how you stand that chilling feeling on the stomach you get every time."

"It's not so bad after you're used to it." - he shrugged.

They climbed some stairs and walked through the corridor, venturing inside the ship.

"This is the upper deck, where all the rooms and the bridge are." - he told her - "We've also got a crystal lab, a spare parts deposit, and an infirmary. And at the end of this corridor is the access to the engine room."

"Oh, I'd love to see the crystal lab. May I leave some of my crystals there?" - she asked him.

"Of course." - he said - "Let's find you a nice room to settle down so we can leave your luggage there."

They walked down the corridor until they reached the quarters. One of the doors opened and from there the co-pilot walked out.

"Hi, there, Radarr." - the Princess greeted him as she knelt on the ground - "Aww, you look fantastic. All groomed like that." - she petted him softly on the top of his head.

The animal churred sheepishly, grateful for the compliment. And he definitely could feel he was starting to blush. The Princess looked even prettier than before in that new outfit! He noticed Aerrow had walked a few steps ahead and was standing there, waiting for the girl to follow him to the crystal lab. He knew she'd soon stand up and go to his friend, so that gave him an idea. But he'd have to work fast.

As soon as the Princess proceeded to walk towards the Sky Knight and both of them were distracted, Radarr quickly reached for a bottle of liquid soap and squirted it on the floor near Aerrow. Yes! He did it! The Princess would slip on the tiny soap puddle and fall on his arms! Aww... So romantic...

But it was then that he blinked in realization. Wait a second... If she stepped on that puddle she could just as well slip backward instead, so his plan would backfire! He looked at her. Oh, no, too late! She was already about to step on the liquid soap! The little guy reached out his arm to warn her, but she didn't notice him, however, Aerrow caught sight of his signal and glanced at the floor.

Understanding what was going on, the Sky Knight anticipated what was about to happen. The moment Piper's foot touched the puddle, she slipped backward. In the blink of an eye, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her to him to prevent her from falling. He didn't really intend to do it that way, that was pure reflex, but nonetheless, he managed to get her in his arms just like Radarr had premeditated, if not even... More smoothly than what the little animal had expected since he did stare at the scene quite agape. Well, his plan had worked... So he gave his boy a thumbs up and dashed back into the room he had come from.

Aerrow blinked at that, then looked at the Princess to check on her. She was staring at him blankly, her hand clenched against his shirt. Their faces were mere inches away. Well, he just couldn't help himself: he leaned in and captured her lips in his. Hard to believe that was their very first kiss, it was so passionate, like the longing osculation of two lovers that had been apart for years and had finally reunited with each other.

She tugged on his shirt as he held her petite frame, softly stroking her back. He decided to be more daring, so he ran his hands down her waist and made his way under her shirt, gripping on her hips tightly. Her hands moved from his chest to his shoulders, then she wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing herself against him and played with his hair.

Without breaking the kiss, he lifted her from the ground as she crossed her legs behind him. He turned to the side and took a few steps forward in order to allow her to support her back against the wall. He moved one hand behind her head and pulled on her hair as their little intimate moment grew more avid.

Radarr discreetly peered again from the room where he was hiding and saw the couple pressed against the wall across from the room. Oh, wow! He felt himself starting to sweat, so he quickly went back inside the room. But to his dismay, if he could call it that, Aerrow carried the Princess to the same room the co-pilot was! The animal quickly hid under the bed as the Sky Knight set the girl on top of the mattress.

The little guy could hear them as the two teenagers proceeded to remove each other's clothes until they were only in their underwear and toss them away. The red-haired young man smooched her smooth dark skin all over as she moaned blissfully and stroke his hair, neck, and chest. They also pulled off their underclothes and embraced each other. After a couple more kisses and some cuddling, they were ready. The Princess looked at him, a soft smile perked under her rosy cheeks.

"Aerrow... Please..." - she said almost like a whisper in anticipation.

"Yeah?" - he stared at her in a daze and was about to lean down and give her a quick peck on the lips again.

Suddenly he saw the world disappear in front of him with an enormous "poof" as the Princess' words reached his ears like a muffled echo.

"I'm okay, you can let me go now." - she said as she shyly adjusted his collar.

He blinked out of his daydream, finding himself still in the corridor and holding onto the girl that had just slipped on the soap puddle, then stared at her quietly for a brief moment before he quickly released her as she got her footing back.

"Hm... Sure. Sorry." - he averted his eyes awkwardly - "So, uh, we were going to the crystal lab, right? It's right over here."

He motioned for her to follow him and, to his luck, she didn't question him about what had just happened. Sigh... That was only a vivid dream... He was definitely going to have an awesome time there... Too bad it wasn't real. But... Wow, did it feel real! He wasn't sure if he should be worried about being thrown _that_ off focus by an illusion or amazed by how realistic were the tricks his mind played on him. Yeah… He could certainly admit now that he was in love with the Princess. Oh, dear… That wasn't really the best timing for the cupid to strike him…

Radarr watched from the doorway of the room he had thought of hiding in. Just what in the world happened? He shook his head in disbelief. How come Aerrow managed to waste a chance like that?! Seriously, he just stood there completely bewildered and did nothing! The animal facepalmed. Ugh! That guy was plain hopeless...


	6. Wishes Under a Star

* * *

**Chapter VI**

**Wishes Under a Star**

 

After showing the Princess around the crystal lab and helping her safely store her crystals in a few crates, Aerrow brought her luggage to the room she had chosen to settle down at. He was actually surprised that all she had brought was a small backpack. He had expected her to bring her whole wardrobe or something, but with every passing minute, she proved to him that she wasn't like most girls. She was something else.

Once she finished setting her stuff in her room the way she wanted, both of them headed for the bridge, where Radarr was preparing the ship for take off.

"And at last, here's the bridge. Where the pilot stays and most of the crew's strategic meetings happen." - the Sky Knight gestured to the room - "That's it for the tour."

"Thanks, Aerrow." - she giggled - "The bridge seems bigger from the inside." - she said as she looked around.

"That's because of the frontal window and the balcony. They give the impression that the room is a lot bigger than it really is." - he told her - "Are you ready for take off?"

She didn't reply right away. She glanced through the window at her Terra, then looked back at him.

"Yes." - she nodded determinedly, then she saw the co-pilot near the helm - "Would you care to do the honors, Radarr?"

The animal chirped in delight. Ah, so she had noticed he could fly the ship! He pulled the helm to his level, then he pulled some levers in order to start the engines. The ship roared with life and started to float, then he gunned the boosters to take it to the skies.

"Oh, what a great carrier pilot you are!" - the Princess petted him, and he melted under her touch.

He had to confess he loved her too. Not the same way Aerrow did, but... He really liked the Princess, and just like his friend, he couldn't get enough of her. He wanted her to stay forever with them... Or for them to remain with her. Whichever one she preferred. It didn't matter as long as they could be with her.

Aerrow led her to the balcony so she could have a better view of the landscape. He rested his arms casually against the handrails as she bent her back forward while grabbing on the metallic support for the hands in order to take a look below them, then she glanced at the rest of the view, taking it all in. Wow... Was everything so magnificent! She couldn't believe how much she had been missing out by staying in her tower all the time! And to think there was so much more out there!

The Sky Knight just watched her in silence. He contemplated her enthusiasm, guessing that was probably the first time ever she went to another place, out of her Terra. And it was then that she looked at him smiling, letting him know how happy she was for having the opportunity to travel, thanks to him.

All he could do was stare at her completely mesmerized. Her midnight blue hair flowing with the wind like waves in the ocean complemented her face. The sunlight shining against her chocolate skin made it look like she was glowing a little. And her eyes... The color of a sunrise, or of a sunset... They were like the purest of the lights, sending its warmth to everyone blessed enough to be able to look at them.

He felt his heart sighing. For some reason, all he wanted to do was hold her close to him, maybe even tell her he loved her more than anything in the world. But he just couldn't bring himself to do that. He... He didn't deserve her. Also... She was a Princess and him... He was just a nobody. Why would she even care about him anyway? Much less consider something like that...

Yet, he smiled back at her. It was the least he could do. And little did he know that his unconsciously tender smile and caring gaze made her heart skip a beat. She wasn't fully expecting that, but she definitely welcomed it. She blushed softly at his action, then looked back at the sky.

Radarr piloted the ship to the best of his skills, making the flight as smooth as possible in order to not disturb them so they could enjoy a little moment alone. Still, he saw there was some kind of distance between the two, like a barrier that kept them from going beyond what they had at the moment: friendship.

C'mon! Just because she was royalty and he wasn't? What was the problem with that? It's not like there was anything wrong with it. Did she really have to marry some Prince? As if a Sky Knight weren't a much better option... Aerrow was skilled, devoted, Gosh, he was a total catch, listing all his qualities would take all day long, and above all that, he truly loved her! What did some random Prince have that he didn't? Wealth? Big deal! The Princess definitely could care less about that! So that didn't matter at all!

The little guy saw his friend coming inside the bridge and heading for the corridor for whatever reasons. Ugh! He was leaving her! Just what the... How could he become closer to her if he kept going away?! The animal shook his head. What now? Play the matchmaker since Aerrow was simply incapable of doing that on his own? Sigh... He was trying to avoid that, he was trying to be subtle and let things flow naturally. But apparently, they needed a catalyst, because they were fighting against their own bond. Seriously, there was no way they weren't aware of the chemistry going on between them.

Wait a second... Maybe the Princess really was clueless about Aerrow's feelings, since he wasn't exactly clear about them. And the only reason she was afraid of making a move was that she thought it'd be inappropriate, after all, she knows he's currently focused on that revenge of his... Talk about becoming the obstacle yourself... But how could he get his buddy to admit what he felt? He knew he'd never say that himself, at least, not so soon. Maybe he could let her know indirectly... Hm...

An idea sparked in his mind. He knew just the trick. But pulling it off was the hard part of the plan... He set the auto-pilot, then dashed over to the storage compartment. He frantically searched for a certain item. He was afraid that with this last clean up Aerrow might have gotten rid of it. Please, no... But then his face lit up when he finally found it! There it is! He pulled a sheet away to reveal an old guitar. It definitely would sound better if he could find its plug, but he didn't have time for that. Unplugged guitar sounded cool too, anyways.

He took the guitar with him and gave it a good polish, so it'd shine, then he headed for Aerrow's room. Before going there directly, though, he decided to locate the Sky Knight, first. He peered down the corridor and saw his friend going to the bathroom. Perfect! He dashed to his room and put the guitar on top of his bed, then he left as quickly as he came in.

Not too long later, the red-haired young man walked into his room and found the guitar. He stared at it a little confused but didn't bother with figuring out how did it get there. He approached it and strummed its cords once. The melody echoed in his ears and for some strange reason, he felt like taking that old guitar for a spin... For old times' sake.

He left his room and made his way to the roof of the ship. He sat down and gazed at the sun setting. He wasn't thinking of what to play, the music just came out on its own. It was the melody of a song about some flower and a man in love. Radarr, who was hidden under the roof, heard him play and immediately dashed back into the ship to figure out a way of making the Princess climb out to the roof. He had to be quick because that song wasn't a very long one.

The animal sniffed the air in order to locate her, and after finding her scent, he ran towards her room. She was sitting by the desk, with a few crystals on top of the table. She seemed to be busy with the colorful and sparkling stones, probably working on some new trick. His ears fell behind his head. What should he do to get her attention?! He blinked. There was one thing he could try.

He ran as fast as he could to the engine room. In that room, there was a panel that controlled the air pipes running through the entire ship. If he could align them correctly, they'd work like some kind of sound amplifier. He grabbed on the valves. Here goes nothing! He turned them, one by one until he had aligned the pipe that reached the roof with the pipes from the inside of the ship, then he made the connection all the way to the end of the corridor, where Piper's room was.

He sprinted back to the doorway of her room, hiding behind the wall. When he heard the sound of the song, though, he cringed. Oh, God, he hadn't considered that the metallic pipes would completely distort the sound! That no longer sounded like a song, it sounded like a completely messed up and out of tune musical instrument. The worst part was that the pipes caused the sound to echo, and the echoes were resonating inside the corridor, making the walls vibrate.

What a disaster! He had to put the pipes back where they used to be before his ears would explode! However, before he could do that, the Princess stopped working on her crystals and looked towards the doorway.

"What's this sound?" - she spoke to herself.

She walked to the doorway and peered outside. She noticed the pipe in the ceiling was vibrating and that was the source of the sound. She followed it with her eyes and realized it led to the roof. Radarr pressed himself against the wall so he'd not be seen when the girl walked out of the room. She passed by Aerrow's quarters, the door was open and the room was empty, so she figured it was probably him in the roof, at least, that's what she hoped for, she had already had her share of invasions for now.

The Princess made her way to the balcony, and from there she could access the ladder that led to the roof. She was about to climb it when she noticed the sound of a guitar. The melody was all too familiar.

"I know this song..." - she said to herself.

It was a song about a man in love, comparing his loved one to an addicting flower. Even though Aerrow wasn't singing himself, the lyrics came to her mind. She clasped her hands together and couldn't help but blush since that was a romantic song. She didn't know he could play an instrument, much less that he liked love songs. Soon, the music ended and Aerrow put the guitar down with a sigh.

"What am I thinking? She's a Princess... She belongs with someone on her league..." - he rested his forehead on his hand.

Upon hearing that, the girl froze. She held her breath, her heart seemed to have stopped for a moment. So... He was playing that song... For her? Or, at least, he had thought about her when playing it... She had never imagined that someone like him would ever have feelings for her. He was a Sky Knight that traveled by the whole world and saw all kinds of people, and among them all, he had chosen her to love. Her, of all those people! She didn't know whether to consider herself lucky or if maybe she just had a little bit too much modesty.

Well, that didn't matter, because right at that moment all she could feel was butterflies in her stomach. Was she in love with him as well and only realized it now that he unconsciously admitted his feelings without knowing? He had absolutely no idea she was there, so she was sure he didn't mean to set that up, then there was only one explanation. She looked behind her, catching Radarr red-handed.

"You knew all along, didn't you?" - she asked him.

The little guy churred sheepishly. Hehe, who could blame him anyway? He couldn't just leave his best buddy all lovesick like that forever, right? The girl, however, just knelt on the ground and petted him softly behind the ears.

"You're so nice for caring that much about him." - she told him - "And you know... I think I do too. He's done so much for me... I don't even know how to repay him."

The animal put a finger under his chin in thought, then he made a very girly gesture, even puckering his lips, causing the Princess to giggle.

"A rewarding kiss would be very sweet, but... Is that even close to enough?" - she looked at Aerrow's general direction, a feeling of longing and uncertainty washing over her.

It's not like she could just go there and give him his reward without startling him and being questioned for it. Things didn't work like that, it wasn't so simple. Plus, he had a lot going on in his head at the moment, she didn't want to distract him more than she already was... She looked at Radarr again, then she leaned in and gave him a kiss on the top of the head.

"Please, give this message to him for me." - she petted him behind the ears, then stood up to leave.

The little guy was completely stunned for a few seconds. Yeah, now he knew why Aerrow was left totally bewildered that last time. But when he came back to his senses, the Princess was already walking inside the bridge. Just why? She shouldn't be kissing him! She should be doing that to Aerrow! Now he had to deliver a kiss to his buddy... Oh, great... How was he supposed to do that without feeling grossed out?

He climbed the ladder to the roof and walked towards the Sky Knight nonchalantly. Upon seeing him, Aerrow's expression softened.

"Did you turn on the auto-pilot?" - he asked, to which Radarr nodded - "Got tired of constantly flying the ship, huh?"

The animal moved his head in a way as if to say "kinda" or "more or less" while he approached him.

"You're not up to any mischievous scheme, are you?" - the teenager questioned him as the co-pilot was about to sit down beside him.

Radarr crossed his arms and shook his head a little irritated. Yeah, right, his plan to help make him happy and successful in his love life was totally a mischievous scheme. The Princess herself had considered it! She even sent the guy a message through him!

"Okay, okay, you're not doing anything wrong, I see it. No need to get mad at me." - Aerrow said dismissively - "You see, it's just that... I can't seem to get around what to do about what I feel for the Princess."

The little guy suddenly climbed on his shoulder and reluctantly gave him a quick peck on the cheek. He leaped away as the Sky Knight blinked confusedly.

"Uh, Radarr? What's got into you? What was that for?" - he raised an eyebrow.

The animal made a very girly gesture, then pointed a thumb at the ship, referring Piper. Then he poked the tip of his nose, trying to explain how obvious was the situation.

"The Princess?" - Aerrow blinked, his hand flying to his cheek.

Even though it hadn't exactly been touched by her, the meaning was what mattered. His eyes flit around as he registered what had just happened. He looked at Radarr again just to be sure the animal wasn't yanking his chain. But the little guy was dead serious about that. Well, it was definitely as unbelievable as it could get. But, no, that couldn't be true...

"That was probably just a little 'thank you' for helping save her Terra." - he shrugged and stared at the ground with a blank expression - "There's no way she'd really..." - he trailed off and sighed, then looked at the sky upset.

Radarr could only whimper in disappointment. Was it so hard to get that hint? But he couldn't blame the Sky Knight, he hadn't heard what the Princess said, and it's not like the co-pilot could explain it through charades... Plus... He himself couldn't confirm if she was truly fond of Aerrow that way yet. She cared deeply about him, but did she love him already? He didn't know, neither did he know how to ask her that.

Yet, he couldn't leave his buddy sad like that. He placed a paw on his arm, smiling sympathetically at him. When Aerrow glanced at him, the animal gave him a reassuring look. He should chill out! Things would work out just fine in the end, he just had to wait a little bit longer.

"I guess you're right, I shouldn't be worrying about that now. We'll have plenty of time to figure out something when this is over anyway." - he smiled a little.

Radarr chirped in agreement. Now that was his boy, always an optimist and standing with his head tall. Aerrow stood up and headed for his room, his little friend following him.

* * *

 

Later that night, the red-haired teenager stood on the balcony with his arms resting on the handrails, observing the starry sky. He thought about his objective and the fact he had dragged the Princess along in that crazy rollercoaster ride that was his miserable life. Was he doing the right thing? What if something happened to her because of him? He'd never forgive himself if any harm came to her.

He heard a few steps exiting the bridge and coming into the balcony, so he looked behind him to find the Princess standing in front of the large window and staring at him with an unreadable expression.

"Aerrow?" - she called him - "I don't wish to disturb you, but I've been looking for you."

"Ah, no, it's okay, you're not disturbing anything." - he said as she walked to his side.

"I've been meaning to speak to you." - she began - "Are you feeling alright? You've been a lot quiet lately."

He looked back at the sky, not responding right away.

"You're very observant, Princess." - he closed his eyes and lowered his head smiling weakly - "I bet you already know I'm no longer sure of what to do anymore." - his eyelids opened a little and his face was a frown.

"You mean, what you'll do about that man..." - she didn't dare to pronounce his name, for she didn't want to spark any hatred feelings on Aerrow at that moment.

"Yes. I want to make him pay for that, I really do. Yet... I feel like there's something holding me back." - he shook his head - "I... Sometimes I think this was a mistake. That I shouldn't be doing this. But then... I can't stop feeling like there's something missing."

"I know what it's like. That uncertainty, I've felt it many times. It's not easy making some decisions." - she said as she played with her fingers - "One thing I know is that the best way to get rid of the uncertainty is facing it. When you're face-to-face with that man... Your heart will tell you what to do."

"I guess so..." - he replied quietly - "Piper... I want to thank you for coming along. Because of you, I can keep my head clean. Your kind attitude and sense of justice also give me hope to keep moving on, to seek for the end of this war."

"Sure..." - she looked away smiling - "First time you've called me by my name in a while..."

"Really? I mean... Sorry..." - he rubbed the back of his head - "It's just that, if I don't keep the formality in front of your guards, well, I guess they'd think I'm being rude or something."

She giggled in response.

"It's okay. The staff in the castle had a hard time trying to get used to addressing me by my first name as well." - she told him, then she stared at her feet shyly - "But you're not one of my staff, and we're no longer in the castle, so... I hope we'll be able to become actually good friends, for who we really are, instead of me being just a Princess and you being a Sky Knight with your duties."

He looked at her with a blank expression, then smiled warmly.

"Of course, Piper." - he grabbed one of her hands and held it - "We're much more than just our positions."

"Thanks... For understanding me." - she beamed at him.

They just remained silent like that for the rest of the night, observing the sky. Suddenly a shooting star passed by and Piper looked at Aerrow smiling, pointing at it, then she glanced back at the sky. He just stared at her, she certainly was making a wish. His heart sighed. If only he could... He studied her and decided what would be his wish: her happiness. That was all he thought of, the most recurring thing on his mind lately. Whether her joy had to do with him or not, he didn't care. He just wanted to always see her smiling like that.

Little did he know that the Princess was wishing the best for him as well. She wanted him to know what to do when the time came. And that he'd make the right decision. And after everything was over, that maybe he'd wish to settle down... With her... And that was how the night progressed, under the gaze of the stars, a young couple subconsciously wished to be together.


	7. Fall from Grace

* * *

**Chapter VII**

**Fall from Grace**

The sun shone brightly from behind the clouds as the ship flew through the skies. The light coming into Aerrow's room woke the Sky Knight up. He got dressed in his uniform and armor, even left his blades ready behind his back, then headed for the bridge, Radarr following him close behind. He watched the orange sky through the large windows with a determined expression. That was the day, they were getting close to their destination. They had heard the Dark Ace was going to invade Terra Atmosia in order to steal the Aurora Stone, so the teenager thought that was the perfect opportunity to intercept him.

The ship was slowly approaching the Terra from under the clouds when Piper entered the bridge. She was ready as well, having prepared the ship's defense systems beforehand, for she was going to be the one piloting it, while Radarr would be Aerrow's co-pilot. She saluted him, showing him she'd follow him into the battle no matter what. That was it. He'd be as ready as he could ever be. It was time to settle the score. Aerrow and Radarr headed for the hangar bay and mounted on the skimmer. Piper opened the hatch for them and then came closer.

"Please, take care, you two." - she said as she placed one hand on Aerrow's shoulder and the other on Radarr's head.

"We will." - the Sky Knight assured her as the co-pilot nodded in agreement - "And you, don't worry about us, if things get tough, just get out of here."

A tiny smile appeared in her face. She knew he was going to say that, and she understood he had a point. The fact that she agreed to join him didn't mean he'd want to see her putting herself in danger, so in order to help him keep his focus, she had to promise him that she'd leave if things got too dangerous.

"Okay... I don't like the idea of leaving you guys alone, but I'll do it." - she told him - "And I'll be waiting for you to return to the ship."

After hearing that, Aerrow no longer had to worry, he knew she could take care of herself, but he felt much more relieved after knowing she'd not try to go overboard nor overextend for his sake. He accelerated the skimmer and both he and his co-pilot took to the sky. They flew ahead of the ship in order to scout the area. Not too far from them, they saw the Cyclonian fleet closing in on Terra Atmosia. Piper pulled down the periscope and used it to locate their specific target.

"Aerrow, he's right there in the front line, surrounded by several Talons and even a battleship behind them." - she told him - "Be careful when approaching."

"Don't worry, he won't even see what hit him." - the Sky Knight said through greeted teeth.

Just the thought of that man made him angry. It was time for that murderer to pay. He pulled out a Nitro crystal and inserted it on the afterburner. Once the crystal was absorbed, the skimmer shot out towards the fleet as fast as lightning. The Talons were flying unaware of their adversary when a pair of metallic wings collided with their heads, pushing them off their skyrides unceremoniously. After several of them had been taken off, the fleet figured out their attacker. The Cyclonians proceeded to pursue Aerrow and Radarr, and it was then that Piper could come in.

She brought the ship closer to the battlefield without anyone else noticing her, and with that, she flanked the battleship and quite a few enemy squadrons. No matter how much the enemies shot at the ship, they couldn't damage it because of the force field the Princess had set around it with a matrix of shielding crystals powered up by an enhancement crystal. The blasters were also upgraded, but they didn't seem to deal much damage to the battleship's thick armor.

"I'll probably have to save the piercing bullets for that one." - she said to herself upon seeing how her shots didn't even scratch the hull.

She proceeded to shoot at the small skyrides first since they were a lot easier to take down. The switchblades took only one direct hit to be destroyed, and Piper's aim wasn't anywhere near off. She focused on hitting only the skyrides, not the riders because she knew a shot from a carrier ship hurt a lot. She didn't intend to kill anyone, just to prevent them from interfering with Aerrow's fight.

While she easily took care of about half of the Talons and distracted the battleship, Aerrow was dismantling the other half of the fleet without a second thought. He'd cut off the wings of the switchblades by smoothly flying upside down right above them. As he got closer to his target, he proceeded to leap from one skyride to the other, slashing each one in half as he kept going. On the last one near the man, he jumped and kicked the pilot off the ride, then stood in his place, glaring at the Dark Ace right in front of him.

The Talon Commander stared at the teenager in the switchblade beside him. He was completely ready for battle. The man wondered how he knew of the invasion, but pushed those thoughts aside in order to focus on the fight that was about to start. Dark Ace accelerated his switchblade as fast as he could in order to maneuver it and come back at full throttle. However, Aerrow didn't let him. The Sky Knight jumped to his own skimmer and chased after the man very quickly. The Commander barely had time to turn his torso around to parry Aerrow's attack.

Their swords clashed against each other at an incredible speed as their skyrides circled one another. Aerrow was fierce as ever, not giving a chance for his opponent to escape, nor an opening for him to pierce his guard. But the Dark Ace didn't falter, he fought just as well as him, easily parrying all of the attacks. Even though the young one had talent, the Talon Commander was a lot more experienced in Sky Duels, having never lost one in all his career. He was known for being quick, precise and deadly.

While the two were dueling, Piper had to take care of a huge Cyclonian cruiser by herself. Completely alone in the ship, she had to pilot, load the piercing ammo, shoot and keep the ship's defenses up without anyone else's help. Talk about a one-woman army. The enemy battleship was shooting at her mercilessly, but she stood her ground. Another blast collided with the ship, making it shake a lot, causing her to hold onto the periscope to keep her footing.

"I think two canons aren't enough." - she said worriedly.

Indeed, the battleship had a lot more firepower, even if she dealt some good direct hits, her ship would go down before theirs if they had that advantage. She set the autopilot and ran for the hangar bay, bringing a crate of crystals with her. There, she opened the hatch and walked by the landing strip, pouring all her crystals on the floor. She focused a little, making the shining stones float, then, with deadly aim, she shot all of them at the engine of the battlecruiser, piercing its armor like tiny drills being shot by a gatling gun and severely damaging it. Needless to say, the Cyclonian cruiser sank in the clouds. She smiled triumphantly, then ran back to the bridge in order to fly the ship towards Aerrow and Radarr.

The two men were still clashing against each other with all their might, and neither seemed to be giving up anytime soon. Still, the Dark Ace had a few tricks up his sleeve. He quickly pulled away from the clash and sliced Radarr's cockpit off the skimmer before Aerrow could retaliate. Not expecting that, all the Sky Knight could do was watch as his animal companion fell from the sky. However, someone was there for him. Piper brought the ship under the little guy just in time. He hit the roof once, bouncing off it and then he fell towards the balcony, where the Princess stood ready to catch him.

"Got you!" - she shouted as she grabbed him.

Radarr chirped happily in gratitude as she smiled at him, then both gave Aerrow a heads up. He sighed in relief, then chased after the Dark Ace once again. The girl and the co-pilot entered the bridge and saw a few sparks coming off the control panel.

"Sorry, maintaining the force field was harder than I thought, so the engine took a little bit of damage." - she shrugged sheepishly.

The animal made a few gestures and chirped, as if he were saying "Don't sweat it, this can be easily fixed", then he bolted off to the engine room. She ran after him to help out. When she got to the room, he was already sealing the dents in the pipes where a lot of steam was coming from. He chirped in warn, letting her know he'd need some tools.

"Right, I'll go get the tool box." - she told him and sprinted to the corridor.

She stopped halfway by the storage compartment and grabbed a large metallic box filled with all kinds of tools, then carried it back to the engine room. With tools at their disposal, they were able to fix most of the damage caused by the battleship, until they felt the ship shaking from the impact of shots colliding with its shield. Piper quickly headed for the bridge to search for their attackers.

"The Dark Ace has sent the remaining Cyclonian squadron after us." - she warned Aerrow and Radarr through the radio - "The engine room still needs to be repaired, so we'll have to sit here while I keep our shields up until we can move."

"It's okay, I'll try to take a few of them out from afar." - the Sky Knight responded.

He shot with his blades at the Talons in order to destroy their rides. He managed to take some down, which made things easier for his friends aboard the ship. With only two Cyclonians remaining, Aerrow could focus on his fight against the Commander. He had to keep that man away from the ship because he could just as well try to attack the Princess or the co-pilot. When he saw the black haired enemy approach, he quickly clashed against him again. But this time, they were going for a different style of battling. They flew a great distance, then headed for their final clash.

While that, Piper and Radarr tried their best to keep the ship together. The Princess took down the last two Talons and went back to the engine room to check on the co-pilot.

"Do you need anything?" - she asked him.

He was pouring down some kind of oil on one of the many pipes in the room. The can he was using was soon empty and he still had to keep an eye on the maintenance he had just made, so he pointed at the empty can, then signaled at the general direction of the hangar bay. The girl nodded and immediately went there. As soon as she stepped on the hangar, though, she gasped: the place was completely filled with Night Crawlers. They were twice, maybe thrice, more enemies than the ones that invaded her kingdom. They all had their guns pointed at her, one false move and she'd be shot at. One of them even used a small green crystal to fry the earpiece she was using.

"How did you get through my force field? And what are you doing here?" - she inquired as she pulled the damaged communicator from her ear.

"We've learned a lot after that last time, Princess." - the red-eyed leader of the Night Crawlers said - "You shouldn't have involved yourself in this. Now you've just declared war upon your Terra. We've come here with an ultimatum from our Master: either you come with us or your Terra will become her possession instead."

"As if you could do anything to my Terra. It's currently well hidden and protected, it cannot be touched." - the Princess crossed her arms.

"It's not as safe as you might think. You've done a smart job with the cloaked warp force field, but our Master has a lot more resources than you can imagine. Disabling that shield is child's play for her." - the dark soldier told her - "Their lives depend on your decision right here and now. Choose wisely, and you better hurry, clock's ticking, Princess."

She frowned. If what that guy said was true… She didn't know how powerful and resourceful the Master was. She couldn't take that chance. The lives of her people were at stake, and they weren't something she could bargain. She took a deep breath and calmly closed her eyes, having made her choice.

Unaware of that, Aerrow was completely focused on the fight with the Dark Ace. The two skyrides were flying quickly towards each other, their pilots preparing their own moves. The Sky Knight was the first one to attack. He absorbed some energy from his blades, then leaped in the air. A pair of angelic wings appeared behind him, like two big extensions of his swords, then, as he moved, the wings collided against each other, forming a bolt of energy that traveled to its target as fast as lightning.

While he was still in the air, Aerrow heard the Princess gasping through his communicator. He blinked in worry, losing his focus, which caused him not to pay attention to where he was landing: the Talon Commander's switchblade. To make things worse, not only did he land on his enemy's ride, but he also missed his attack.

"Piper?" - he spoke to his earpiece but didn't receive an answer from her - "Piper, come in! What's wrong?"

Silence. He had a bad feeling about that. Something was happening on the ship. He had to... But before he could do anything, the Dark Ace appeared behind him.

"I'm still here, Aerrow." - the man said as he moved to attack.

The red-haired teenager barely had enough time to parry the blow. He cross-parried the reddish sword inches away from his face. It had almost scarred him. The sound of something exploding, then pure static was played in the Sky Knight's ear.

"Piper!" - he shouted alarmed.

"Better pay attention to our duel if you want to live." - the Dark Ace smirked, then he pushed Aerrow's blades upwards and performed a roundhouse kick on him.

The young warrior was pushed off the skyride. He put his swords back in place then opened his glider in order to remain in the air. Unarmed and defenseless, all he could do was watch as the Cyclonian performed his move. He absorbed the energy, somersaulted in the air, then moved his two-handed sword downwards, unleashing an unstable reddish bolt of energy. The attack blasted one of the wings of Aerrow's glider. He spun in the air as he fell towards the Terra. He crashed against the stone ground, then bounced off his glider and slid a few feet on the floor. He coughed up the dust as he pushed himself up, then he felt the heat of the enemy's sword very close to his neck. The Dark Ace was smirking at him, with his sword ready to slice his head off.

"You are certainly a fool with this futile attempt to intercept me." - the man said as he deactivated his blade, the sky was growing darker behind him.

Aerrow glared at him, then he looked to the side as he heard the sound of two Talons coming from the beckoning tower with the Aurora Stone in their possession. The Commander picked the crystal up, showed it to the Sky Knight, then put it inside a bag. He walked towards his switchblade, then mounted on it.

"Today is the day Cyclonia will come out victorious at last." - he announced - "A new future is about to come."

The Cyclonians took off in their switchblades, heading back for their Terra. Aerrow watched them go, then slowly pushed himself up. He groaned as he stood up, his body was very sore from the fall. The crowd observed him, and among them, a voice spoke, drawing his attention.

"You've got some nerve, Sky Knight." - the Counselor from Terra Solaris said harshly - "Dragging our Princess to a dangerous quest, trying to fend off a whole army of those Cyclonians with two people. Do you ever think about the consequences before you take action?"

"You... You've followed us?" - the teenager asked as he pressed his head with his hand.

"Why, of course! Do you think I'd trust you with our Princess?!" - the old man retorted - "And I was right. We shouldn't have let her come with you. Now she's gone to never come back."

"What are you talking about?" - he winced in pain then looked around worriedly - "Where's Piper?"

And just as he asked that, Radarr came running after having landed the ship on the Terra, then he looked up with a sad expression. The counselor glared at him, then walked forward, pulling out a letter from his pocket.

"Looks like you were too busy with your vengeance while our Princess was being taken hostage by the Cyclonians." - he stopped right in front of him - "She had noble intentions to assist you, but she ended up involved in something she had nothing to do with, and now she's going to pay a price she didn't deserve. All because you were reckless and selfish, ready to sacrifice someone's life to get your revenge!"

"I'd never do such a thing!" - Aerrow shouted angrily.

"Then why weren't you there when she was being blackmailed by the Cyclonians?!" - the man handed him the piece of paper - "Your fight with that Dark Ace was more important, wasn't it?"

As the green eyes scanned the letter remarking about how the Empire would destroy Terra Solaris if the Princess didn't turn herself in, his face fell into a worried frown.

"We should have known our Princess' life was cut short the moment she met you." - the counselor said - "And so is the world's, now that the Cyclonians have the most powerful artifact in their possession."

"No. I won't let that happen." - Aerrow stared at the man determined - "I'll rescue the Princess and bring the Aurora Stone back."

"You? All by yourself? That's a suicide mission." - he replied.

"I don't care, I'll go to the depths of Cyclonia if needed." - he clenched his fist - "And nothing will stand in my way."

"Suit yourself. Since the Princess seemed to be fond of you, I'll give you one last chance." - the counselor told him - "If you bring our Princess back, we shall forget what happened today and you'll be able to go on your way."

That last part made him feel taken aback, but he didn't let it show up. Did the counselor mean that... After saving the Princess, he should leave? Just like that? His heart sighed. The man was right. She'd be better off without him. All he did was cause her trouble, one after another. Still... Was he ready to sacrifice himself in order to save her then just let her go? He didn't know, nor did he want to think of the answer to that question. Yet, he had to agree to that, so he nodded solemnly.

Radarr whimpered sadly. He didn't want to part ways with the Princess... But he couldn't do anything. After what happened, that was probably the best course of action. Aerrow turned around and headed for the ship.

"C'mon, Radarr, we have a rescue mission." - the Sky Knight said without stopping.

The co-pilot followed him without hesitating. The two went inside the ship and set off to Cyclonia.

* * *

 

In the Cyclonian main Terra, the squadron of Night Crawlers arrived with the captive Princess. They landed on a platform, where they gave her a vest that marked her as their prisoner, then they prepared some handcuffs for her.

"Handcuffs? Now that's just disrespectful, I've accepted to be taken here, I'm not going to run away." - Piper refused to put the handcuffs - "I didn't even bring my crystals."

"She's correct." - a voice belonging to none other than the Master herself spoke - "She's not to be treated like your average prisoner. She's a ruler of a Terra, just like me."

The Master was truly menacing, especially with that hood of hers that would unfold itself into a collar, but Piper didn't flinch, in fact, she kept her head tall all the time. She'd not cower to someone like her.

"You speak as if we could be compared solely because of our titles as rulers." - the Princess replied - "There's much more to a person than such aspect. We are nothing alike."

"Oh, but you don't even know me. For all I know, we could have the same interests in mind." - the Master said cynically.

"As long as your interests have to do with conquering other Terras and not giving other people a choice, I believe we have nothing in common." - Piper responded.

"My... You are sharp." - the Master smirked, then she turned to her soldiers - "Escort her to the special cell in the throne room."

Two Talons walked near the Princess on each side. The group moved to the large throne room, which apparently didn't have a throne, instead, it had a very big and creepy looking machine specialized in crystal fusion. The Princess was sent to a small cell, with only a bench to sit. The Master moved to the control panel of the machine and proceeded to type in a few commands to it when a Talon came from the double door.

"Master Cyclonis, the Dark Ace has been successful in his mission. He's on his way here with the Aurora Stone." - the man bowed down.

Upon hearing that, Piper blinked but quickly hid her reaction from Cyclonis. If the Dark Ace succeeded, then that meant Aerrow... Lost? And she had heard the Talon Commander was known for finishing off his opponents, instead of just defeating them. Oh, no... Did he... Kill him? That thought sent shivers down her spine, in a bad way.

"Good. Prepare the hangar bay for when he arrives." - the Master responded without turning away from the keyboard.

As soon as the Talon left, the Princess inquired some answers from the Empress.

"What do you intend to do with the Aurora Stone?" - she asked.

"What else? To force all the Terras into submission, of course." - Cyclonis said - "Either they surrender, or my storm machine will unleash the wrath of nature on Atmos. And that includes your little Terra Solaris too."

"You wouldn't dare!" - Piper gripped on the bars of her cell and pulled on them, as if she were attempting to get out and fight the Master - "I have already agreed on staying here as a prisoner in exchange for my Terra's protection."

"Why would I want to have a Princess in my dungeon when I could have a whole Terra under my flag? You're nothing more than a little trinket." - the Master said bitterly - "With you out of the way, though, I can easily force the Terra to join me."

"Why are you so obsessed with conquering everything? Why can't you just accept that the Terras want to be free?" - the Princess tried to talk sense into her.

"And why can't you see that a unified nation would make keeping the order a lot easier?" - Cyclonis replied - "The people from my Terra are living just fine, aren't they?"

"Your Terra is pretty much only military, I haven't seen one single civilian here." - Piper commented - "How do you expect to be a good ruler when you've never been with common people?"

Cyclonis was about to respond when a light on the control panel started flashing: it was the notification about intruders being sighted in the territory. She smirked as she pressed the button below the warning light, causing a display to come down from the ceiling.

"Oh, look who we have here. A little intruder." - she said a little too delighted for Piper's comfort.

The Princess turned around to look at the display and saw Aerrow on his skimmer, heading into Cyclonian territory, determined to come to her aid and recover the stolen crystal. She felt her heartwarming up. He was still alive! But then she analyzed the situation and realized he had pretty much sentenced himself to death.

"Aerrow..." - she spoke worriedly.

He had come alone. He intended to face the whole Terra all by himself. Probably the most dangerous mission one could ever take on.

"Your knight in shining armor surely is persistent." - the Master commented - "I'm afraid that only clipping his wings would teach him a lesson." - she then turned the communicator on as Piper looked at her with a sad expression, anticipating what she was about to do - "Send all the forces to the southwest quadrant and deal with that Sky Knight."

Piper swallowed a lump in her throat. It was done. Aerrow would have to face the whole Cyclonian army on his own, all because he wanted to save her, and there was nothing she could do to help him. She was starting to consider whether she took the best course of action by surrendering, or if all it did was make Aerrow walk into a trap. She sighed. How could she be a good ruler if she made such a foolish decision? In the end, she couldn't protect her Terra and she put her poor rescuer in danger. She clenched her hands in a prayer for his safety.

"Please, be safe." - she whispered to herself.

Out there, Aerrow was coming for her. The least she could do was wish him luck. If he made it, he'd probably be known as the greatest hero of all Atmos. Yes... That title suited him perfectly. The thought of him made her heart feel warm. He'd never leave her behind. She now knew he was the one. And she hoped that he'd arrive safely... And that, maybe, after that was all over, they could have a future together. Who knew?


	8. Ascending to Redemption

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Graphic depiction of violence in this chapter.

* * *

**Chapter VIII**

**Ascending to Redemption**

The sound of thunder and the blinding light of the lightning bolts waltzed together in the red skies of Cyclonia as Aerrow flew towards the castle. He had made up his mind and nothing would make him turn back. He thought of how he had told Radarr to stay on the ship and bring it under covers to the main Terra.

_"Remember, stay on the Wastelands level until you arrive." - he knelt on the ground and looked at the co-pilot in the eyes - "Once you see the base of the Terra, bring the ship to the south port side. I'll provide the distraction on the surface."_

_The little animal saluted him. Leave it to him! He dashed to the helm and prepared the ship for its descent into the most dangerous area of the Atmos. Which would only become even more dangerous the closer he got to Cyclonia, but he didn't even flinch like last time they had gone for a trip to the lava-filled place._

_Aerrow nodded just as determined and headed for the hangar bay. He hopped on the skimmer and took off without looking behind. There wasn't a single drop of hesitation in his mind then._

And there definitely wasn't any in his head right now that he was flying straight into the enemy territory. He didn't bother with the Cyclonian patrols seeing him. In fact, he wanted to draw as much attention as possible, so he even lit up his sword and shot at the watchtowers, destroying a few and causing some squadrons to go after him.

* * *

 

Meanwhile, the Dark Ace had arrived at the main Terra. He walked into the Throne Room, offering the Aurora Stone to Cyclonis.

"Excellent work as always, Dark Ace." - the Master said as she took the crystal from his hand and placed it on the storm machine - "Now it won't be long until the machine has absorbed enough energy from the Aurora Stone to start our new age."

"I see the Princess from Terra Solaris is already a captive." - he commented as he saw the girl inside the cell - "You don't think that would attract that Sky Knight here?"

"Of course. But you shouldn't worry. He'll eventually be finished off at some point." - the Empress told him - "He just cannot get through all of our defenses."

She went back to working on the control panel, the machine would make some strange noises as if it were recharging its energy. The Talon Commander left the room without saying a word. Piper frowned at that. With every passing moment, things were getting grimmer and grimmer.

"Please, Aerrow, hurry." - she whispered to herself.

* * *

 

The Cyclonians chased after Aerrow non-stop. Yet, he didn't flinch. As a couple of Talons closed in on him, one of the enemies shot and he smoothly dodged the bolt of energy, which ended up hitting the Cyclonian behind him instead. Then, he quickly flew by his attacker, cutting off the rotor of his heliblade.

He didn't stop there, though. One by one, he'd slice the wings, boosters, and rotors of the Cyclonian skyrides. The sky was covered by the red and green parachutes, falling down like kites on a day without wind.

He was angry and seeking redemption. The Cyclonians had chosen the worst day ever to mess with him and get on his bad side. And they learned that the hard way.

As another group of Talons came from the front, Aerrow soared with his skimmer, dragging them along. Then he jumped with his swords in hand, their light leaving a tray as he fell and sliced off all the switchblades chasing him. They never had a chance to retaliate. As they observed him flying deeper and deeper into Cyclonian territory, only one thought crossed their minds: he was just as ruthless as the Dark Ace. And the Talon Commander was the only one who could deal with that teenager.

* * *

 

Inside the castle, Piper watched through the security camera footage how Aerrow fought with all his might. She was flattered by his bravery and his will to save her. She had her hands clenched in front of her chest as she saw the projector showing him skydiving into the Cyclonians. He was her hero...

"Master, the Sky Knight has managed to pass through the third defense force." - a Talon came from the double door and informed the Empress - "He's currently heading here."

"What an insolent brat..." - the Master commented - "Very well. It seems like we'll need to take drastic measures."

"Leave it to me. I'll personally take care of him." - the Dark Ace appeared and then headed straight to the exit.

The Princess felt as if someone were squeezing her heart. The very same man that had defeated Aerrow was about to face him again. The man who had killed his father and who caused him so much pain for all those years. She prayed for her Sky Knight to prevail in such a difficult time.

"May your mind and heart be clear of doubts and distractions." - she chanted - "May your aim be swift, your strength, resilient and your will, unyielding."

* * *

 

While that looked like a foolish effort, even though those words were so distant from his ears, he could still feel them reaching for his soul, right before he finally met with the Talon Commander on his way to the castle's hangar bay.

"Looks like you haven't learned your lesson." - the Dark Ace spoke as the two skyrides circled each other - "Your father was a fool for trying to defy us, look what happened to him. He is dead, I made sure he's not coming back. Your Princess will be joining him in a few moments as well for having involved herself where she shouldn't. And the same goes for anyone else who gets in our way. Face it, there's nothing you can do."

Aerrow gritted his teeth as he heard his speech. How dare that man talk about his family, the Princess and the other Terras like that!

"You think you're so great... You're a betrayer and a murderer!" - the Sky Knight responded - "You're the one who's got nothing else to give to the world. At least I'm trying to save it from being ruined by people like you."

The two nemeses clashed against each other once more. Their duel was even more fierce than the last time. Their swords bashed against one another at incredible speed and strength, their skyrides flew in circles as they kept the pressure of their attacks. After a stronger blow, they separated. The Dark Ace took the opportunity to unleash his special move on him again, but this time Aerrow was ready. He quickly unlocked the shield from the wing of his skimmer and used it to protect himself from the blast.

After that, the Cyclonian flew by the Sky Knight very fast, almost cutting his head off with the switchblade's wing. He glared at him and flew after him. The Talon Commander looked behind him to see Aerrow crouching in front of the windshield of his skimmer, readying himself to attack. The teenager jumped up in the sky, then came down with a powerful punch. The Dark Ace was pushed into his seat, then he pushed himself up to meet the Sky Knight again.

The two had a quick power match: they got a hold of each other and attempted to force the other to his knees. Yet, Aerrow did not falter. He was a lot more determined than last time. He'd not give up, no matter what. He had an important mission to do, and he'd either finish it or he'd die trying. With a lot of effort, the teenager managed to win that match by pushing the Dark Ace nearly off the skyride. After that, he jumped to his skimmer so they could have one final clash.

They flew off, then headed for a frontal strike. It was their last showdown. The Dark Ace had a murderous look on his face. This time, he'd not let his opponent live for another day. But he wasn't the only one looking forward to winning. Aerrow wouldn't allow himself to lose. He was fighting for the sake of many things a lot more important than life itself to him. He was fighting for his father, for Piper, for Radarr, for all the people in the Atmos. For all he was worth... He'd come out victorious!

The Sky Knight focused on the energy of his swords, then he leaped, the two angelic wings appearing behind him. Finally, he drew the wings close to each other, turning them into a bolt of energy. The attack was so fast and precise, that all the Talon Commander could do was shield himself from the blinding light that came out of the blast with his switchblade. The Cyclonian plummeted in the sky until he deployed his retractable wings in order to glide to safety. The man yelled in anger at his defeat. He simply couldn't believe he had lost to... To a child! He had underestimated that kid...

Having won the duel, Aerrow flew straight to the Cyclonian castle. There were no more defense lines in his way. He was able to land on the hangar bay without any problems... Until he saw all the castle guard reunited right in front of the corridor that led to the main tower. Apparently, they weren't going to make things easy for him. Yet, he couldn't waste any time.

He stared at his swords, remembering how a while ago he'd been training to mimic his father's signature move. Well, time to put his practice to the test. He absorbed the energy and allowed himself to be enveloped by it. He crouched a little to get some impulse.

"Out of my way!" - he shouted as he quickly dashed forward without hesitating.

He charged so fast that the impact sent the soldiers flying in the air, almost like a train wreck. They never saw that coming, so they didn't even react soon enough to be able to defend themselves. He walked to a semi-conscious Talon and grabbed him by the collar.

"Where are you keeping the Princess?" - he demanded an answer.

"In the throne room. Along with the Aurora Stone." - the man told him, his voice was shaking from fear.

The two were in the same place? Well, that made things a little easier. Aerrow let go of him and spoke to his communicator.

"Radarr, did you manage to get to the correct duct?" - he asked, then heard a happy chirp in reply - "Good. Turn the ship's lockdown mode on and meet me in front of the throne room."

He ran off by the dark corridors without slowing down, not even a little. He was determined to finish that war once and for all and to set things right this time. He unconsciously passed by a movement scanner and activated a trap: the walls spun around, revealing their other side filled with holes. From the holes, several spikes were shot incredibly fast. He sprinted to the end of the corridor, avoiding the spikes.

"Booby traps? Seriously?" - he rolled his eyes as he kept running.

Then he came across the next corridor, where rotating saws, a gigantic pickaxe, two walls, and a ceiling/floor crushing devices and what seemed to be a lava pit were lined up to prevent anyone from going any further. He sighed annoyed. Someone was going a little overboard with security...

* * *

 

Inside the throne room, Master Cyclonis didn't waste any time. She set her machine up, readying it to unleash the wrath of nature upon the world. She hadn't received an answer from the Dark Ace nor any of her soldiers, so she had a feeling things weren't going very well.

"That pesky Sky Knight... How could he be causing so much trouble?" - she complained as she quickly typed some commands on the control panel.

"Because when he's set an objective, nothing can get in his way." - the Princess said from inside her cell - "He's that determined."

"As if determination alone would help him against all the traps and defense mechanisms of the castle. He'll be lucky if he's not turned into a crisp on the very first floor." - the Master spoke nonchalantly - "Also, even if he does make it here, he still will have to go through me. And I can assure you that's a no win situation for him."

"You really do underestimate him. He's much more skilled than you think." - Piper crossed her arms.

"We shall see that soon enough." - Cyclonis said with a smirk.

She continued typing commands on the control panel non-stop. She needed a fail-safe in case her plan backfired.

* * *

 

Aerrow was still in the corridors, making his way to the top of the main tower. He had lost count of how many traps he had to go through. All of that was getting tiresome and annoying.

"Radarr... I hope you're doing better than me. Have you seen any traps yet?" - the Sky Knight asked, and he received a confused churr for an answer.

Yeah, guess the co-pilot didn't have any trouble at all. He was probably crawling through the air duct. Smart little guy... The Sky Knight kept running until he found a seemingly empty corridor. Right... As if he'd buy that. He paid attention to small fly heading into the corridor completely unaware of what would happen to it if dared to go in. And just like he expected, the fly was completely pulverized the moment it touched an invisible barrier.

"Okay... I'm getting sick of this already. I'll find myself a shortcut." - he spun his swords in his hands, then, as he was enveloped in the energy, he charged against a wall.

As he passed through the invisible barrier, nothing happened to him due to the crystal energy protecting him. Completely unharmed, he broke through the walls and the ceiling, making his way in a straight line to the throne room. That move caused massive damage to the structure of the tower, so basically, he had set off a countdown until the building collapsed. Yet, he shrugged it off. He'd have plenty of time to rescue Piper, recover the Aurora Stone, defeat the Master and get out.

At last, he arrived at the doorway to the throne room. He stood there and observed it carefully, until he heard the sound of something crawling inside the air duct nearby, then saw Radarr coming out of a hatch. The animal saluted him, showing he was ready. The teenager knelt on the ground to allow his partner to climb on his shoulder, then he stood up and face the door once more.

"Time to end this." - he said.

In one go, he pushed the double doors with all his might and walked into the room.

"Cyclonis!" - he shouted angrily - "I've come here to face you and end this war!"

Piper clenched her hands in front of her heart when she saw him. He made it! He had come to rescue her! The Master just smirked, though, not feeling the slightest bit threatened by him.

"If you think you can defeat me... Go ahead." - she said bluntly.

Aerrow had Radarr leap off his shoulder so he could fight freely. While that, the co-pilot was in charge of figuring out a way to free the Princess from her cell. Cyclonis paid no mind to him, after all, it wasn't like an animal could bypass her tight security. The Sky Knight lit up his blades and dashed at her. The Master shot several energy bolts from her staff, which were all dodged by Aerrow's swift moves. Seeing he'd easily get to her that way, she proceeded to fly with aid of her crystals, narrowly avoiding his attack.

Unable to reach her with his usual melee attacks, Aerrow resorted to blasting at her from a distance. That wasn't his most preferred combat technique, but it'd have to do. However, Cyclonis put up a force field around herself, so all of his blasts were absorbed, powering up her own attack. She shot a powerful beam attack at him, and he had to backflip a few times to dodge it. The fight went on like that for a while, none of them having the upper hand, at least, it didn't seem that way.

While it was true Aerrow didn't take a single hit, neither did Cyclonis, and she didn't even have to move. So that meant he'd get worn out a lot faster. He couldn't keep up with that for too long, he had to conserve his stamina and make sure he landed an attack. He analyzed the situation for a moment and figured out a strategy.

He absorbed the energy from his blades to perform his signature move. He leaped in the air with his angelic wings and shot them at the Empress, but this time, he shot one wing at a time. Their blasts weakened her force field a lot, and he took the opportunity to use his father's move to tackle her to the ground. Now that she was within melee range, he was able to slice her staff in half, cutting off her power source.

Unarmed and defenseless, Cyclonis could only glare at him in defeat. Her... A master Crystal Mage, defeated by a Sky Knight. That was beyond shameful! Aerrow threw a pair of crystal infused handcuffs at her arms, which automatically tied her wrists together, preventing her from taking any actions. Then, he put his swords back in their place and quickly ran to the Princess' cell, where Radarr was working on a way of releasing her.

The little guy managed to bypass the security from the small panel beside the cell and unlock its door. Piper smiled at him, then she quickly headed for the door to open it. Aerrow was waiting for her right in front of the cell. She was about to run to him when the most terrifying thing she had ever witnessed in her life happened: without a single drop of mercy, the Dark Ace thrust his blade in Aerrow's back. The sword pierced his torso completely, reaching all the way to his chest and tearing a big hole on it. Then, he deactivated the weapon, in order to prevent the wound from being cauterized by the heat and pulled the sword off him, to leave the injury open.

The teenager fell to his knees, holding his chest and trying to withstand that awful pain. His uniform was soaked with his blood. The Princess quickly ran to him and held him as he collapsed on her lap. The pain was so excruciating that he couldn't keep himself up. Radarr growled viciously at the Talon Commander and positioned himself between the man and the couple in a protective manner. The Cyclonian just smirked and walked away from them as the girl stared at him in horror.

"Now that your knight is here, he can join you in your demise." - he said, then he used his sword to cut the handcuffs immobilizing his Master.

"Perfect timing, Dark Ace." - she said as she checked on her wrists and stood up.

He placed the blade dripping in blood in his back and followed her to the control panel. She proceeded to type the commands to activate the machine. The roof opened, revealing the red sky and several lightning bolts would hit the machine and power it up. The end was about to begin. Radarr watched the scene helplessly. His partner was mortally wounded, the Master intended to threaten the world with her enormous power and there was nothing he could do on his own!

Aerrow tried to push himself up, but he barely had any strength left, as it was being drained the more blood he lost. The Princess allowed him to move and he ended up lying with his head on her lap. She worriedly watched over him, her eyes teared up as she took a glance at his wound.

"Piper..." - he said softly as he looked at her, his voice was nearly gone - "I'm sorry for dragging you into this. It was all my fault."

"No, no... Don't say that." - she frowned as she stared into his eyes and placed a peck on the top of his head, then she pushed his hair away from his face and stroke his cheek.

His skin was so pale and cold, and he also had dark circles under his eyes. He was already starting to look like a corpse, and that scared her more than anything in the world. He was losing so much blood that a pool of the red liquid was slowly forming itself around them. They observed as the machine drew more and more energy from the Aurora Stone. Piper held onto Aerrow as if she were bracing for her last moments of life, and he noticed that.

"No... I can't let that happen..." - he said as he pulled away from her grasp and pushed himself up - "I won't allow this to end this way."

"Aerrow, what are you doing? You're terribly injured!" - she said to him.

"I'm going to end this once and for all." - he told her as he slowly walked towards the machine, using the wall to support himself and leaving a trail of blood on it.

"No! Stop! You can't fight them like this!" - she stood up in front of him in order to prevent him from straining himself any further.

He looked at her saddened face with a weary expression in his own. If he just had the energy, he'd have pulled her into the most passionate kiss one could imagine. But he remained solemn, then placed a hand on her shoulder and softly pushed her to the side, his eyes focused on his objective.

"I have to do this." - he breathed heavily as he glanced at her once more - "Don't worry about me. I know what to do." - and then he saw Radarr looking up at him sadly - "I'm going to find a way to shut that machine down. Maybe take the crystal away from it." - he suddenly coughed up some blood, making the other two more worried than ever.

Piper looked at the blue crystal shining brightly on the top of the control panel. To get there, he'd have to go through both the Dark Ace and Master Cyclonis. It was suicide...

"Aerrow... There's no way you can reach the Aurora Stone up there on your own." - she frowned - "Let us help you."

"No... I don't want to involve you in any more problems than I already did. This was my mistake and I'm going to fix it by myself. If I can't do this, I'm not worth being a Sky Knight." - he looked back at the storm machine - "I have a crazy idea... You two get out of here the moment I destroy that crystal, understood?"

The Princess and the co-pilot blinked surprised. That plan was completely insane, but it'd certainly work. They nodded quietly and watched him go. The brave Sky Knight pulled out his swords and activated them. He breathed in hard since the huge gash on his chest was starting to make him slowly suffocate, then absorbed as much energy as possible from the strike crystals. He channeled so much energy, that some sparks of lightning came out of his body enveloped in a blue aura. He was going to give his last shot at that, and he had to land it.

He crouched a little and even the famous angelic wings appeared behind him, though this time they weren't going to be used to attack, but to give him extra impulse. He charged, his dash was so quick that all that could be seen was a bluish blur, then he suddenly appeared between the Empress and her Commander and used all the stored energy on his body to form some kind of spherical shockwave that knocked them back forcefully, like a nova.

After that, he climbed on the machine and when he was near the Aurora Stone, he connected his swords together to form a double-edged spear and used it to smash the crystal. The damage on the crystal caused it to overload the machine. A blinding light filled the environment as everyone shielded their eyes. The explosion sent Cyclonis and the Dark Ace, who were closer to the machine, flying into a wall and both were knocked out in the process. It also caused the building to shake, triggering a chain reaction that'd make it collapse very quickly.

Radarr grabbed Piper's hand and dragged her with him towards the area where he had landed the ship. While he was very reluctant to do that, he had promised Aerrow he'd keep the Princess safe, no matter what, even if that meant leaving him behind. All he could think of was wishing his friend luck.

They ran by the collapsing corridors, jumping over holes and avoiding falling pieces of the ceiling. When they finally got to the port side where the ship was, Radarr used his wrench to quickly remove the bolts that kept the hatch stuck to the ground. Then, he pulled out a grappling hook from his backpack and shot it at the solar roof of the ship so the two of them could slide on a rope to the bridge. Inside the ship, the co-pilot took the helm and accelerated it to maximum speed. Flying as fast as they could, they managed to get out of the castle right before a huge explosion came out from every single entrance to it.

That was it. Cyclonia was no more and the war was over. The world was finally entering an age of peace. But... Would everyone be able to cherish it? Only time would tell.


	9. Sky Knight Tournament

* * *

**Chapter IX**

**Sky Knight Tournament**

The day after the fight in Cyclonian territory, Piper and Radarr went to the Sky Knight Council in Terra Atmosia to explain what had happened and why the Aurora Stone hadn't been retrieved.

"You are telling us that the Aurora Stone, the most sacred artifact of Atmos, has been destroyed?!" - the head of the Council said in disbelief as the rest of the elders spoke among themselves.

From what they could hear, the two knew they weren't saying good things about Aerrow and his decision to destroy the most powerful crystal of the world. The Princess clenched her fists in anger and frustration, then snapped at them.

"How dare you judge him?! You're a bunch of ungrateful uptight old men!" - she shouted at them, causing them to blink surprised - "You have no idea of what he had gone through there! He was severely injured, bleeding out a lot, and yet he used every last drop of strength he had left to do the impossible to stop Cyclonis! He saved us all! He's a hero!"

The Elders stopped discussing among themselves and remained quiet for a moment, looking down almost ashamed. She was right... That young Sky Knight had given it his all and had saved the Atmos. He had pushed his own integrity aside in order to protect the world.

"It appears we have been... Hasty, jumping to conclusions too early." - the leader of the council said - "From the detailed report of the event provided by the co-pilot... Which was a little hard to read... We decided that he took the best course of action in such a situation."

Radarr smiled triumphantly and a little bit cheeky too. Ha! Take that! Aerrow was the man! One of the Elders then stepped forward to address the two.

"We are sorry for your loss. We shall build a memorial for him." - he said apologetically.

Piper gave him a look and crossed her arms as if challenging him.

"What loss? He did not die." - she said.

"Princess, the report clearly states he's MIA." - the head of the council told her.

"Exactly. _Missing_ in Action, not _Killed_." - she retorted - "I know he's still alive and I refuse to believe he's dead."

She certainly stood her ground there, and Radarr nodded in agreement. Aerrow would never leave them. He would come back, he had to.

"For his sake and yours... I hope you are right." - the old man said.

"He's coming back, you'll see. And then..." - she trailed off and even blushed a little at the thought that came to her - "He'll stay with me because he promised me he'd be my knight." - she smiled softly and looked towards the sky longingly - "I'll be waiting for you, Aerrow..." - she whispered to herself.

* * *

 

A few months had passed since Cyclonia had been destroyed and the war was finally over. The Atmos had entered a period of peace it had been in need of for years. Nobody had to worry about invasions anymore. The Terras were freed and the people acquired their territories back. Everyone was happy again. At least, almost everyone.

Piper and Radarr had gone to Terra Solaris and stayed there ever since they had last visited the Sky Knight council. The little guy had been named the official Princess' guardian. He'd be her right-hand man and protector, plus, he'd make an adorable mascot. He really liked his new position, not that being a co-pilot was ever bad, but the new position was a lot more respectful and gave him much more importance, plus, he had the chance to stay near the Princess, and he simply loved that.

The Princess also enjoyed his company, for he as the only one who could fill the void left by Aerrow the moment he disappeared, at least a little. Just like she had said in the council, she had been waiting for him for all those months. Radarr, who had known Aerrow for much longer than her, already seemed to be over the loss of his friend... She didn't know why she was having so much trouble letting go of him. Maybe it was because the animal didn't love him the same way she did. The kind of love she felt for him made it a lot harder to forget about him.

Yet... Even though Aerrow was no longer there, she knew he wanted to do a certain something for her, so she took the initiative for him. She had planned to host a kind of contest in her Terra: a competition to choose a Sky Knight to protect them.

In one sunny day, she walked on the balcony, from where she'd watch and judge the competition along with Radarr, and stood there to make the announcement to her people.

"My beloved people..." - she began, and everyone paid close attention to her - "Today we shall have a competition in order to choose a Sky Knight to lead our defense forces and guard our Terra." - she spoke as several warriors of all kinds were lined up in the stadium - "A while ago I had the chance to meet the bravest and mightiest Sky Knight of the world. His courage had no boundaries and his sense of justice and loyalty led him to sacrifice himself for the greater good: to save us all." - as she said that, all of the knights smiled, some were awed, others were confident, there was also one who was wearing a helmet, so nobody could tell his expression, but he seemed just as honored as the others - "I want him to be the example for the guards and the new Sky Knight that'll be chosen here today. I wish all of you, honorable warriors, good luck, and may the best win. Let the games begin!"

Everyone cheered and clapped a lot. The warriors went backstage and waited for their turns. They'd all have to compete and tests of strength, speed, courage, strategy and then the ones who passed would have to duel among themselves until only one prevailed over all. The victor would be named the new Sky Knight of Terra Solaris and would be in charge of personally protecting the Princess. Besides that, the new Knight would have her favor so he could be proud of all of his feats done in the name of the Princess.

The first test was a feat of strength, endurance, and concentration. The warriors were supposed to climb a pole with weights tied to their limbs. Their objective was to bring the treasure placed at the top of the pole down without breaking it by climbing down the pole with the item balanced on their heads.

All of the men were lined up in front of the poles. The weights tied to their limbs were proportional to their own mass, so it'd not be unfair for anyone. In other words, they were supposed to carry about 50% of their body weight. The counselor walked to a small pod where he stood on so he could be seen better. He raised his arm, holding some kind of horn. He sounded it to signal the start of the test. All the warriors dashed to the poles and proceeded to climb them.

Some used all their strength to climb the hard way and were actually managing it, but most of them didn't have enough raw force to do that. And even though those extremely strong men were being able to climb, that just showed they'd most likely not pass on the next test. Among the ones that didn't have that much strength, some were failing to climb and others used the weights as leverage to climb the pole more easily.

The ones who used their brains were definitely faster to climb, compared to the ones using their strength alone. The next part of the test was to bring the treasure down, balancing it on their heads, without breaking it. While most of them decided to carefully slide down the pole, one of them, the one wearing a helmet, was crazy enough to literally jump from the top of the pole and backflip before landing on the ground.

The others watched him with wide eyes. He might have been the fastest one to finish the course, but his move was extremely risky. He was lucky the treasure he was carrying didn't break. The spectators were certainly surprised by that. They clapped a lot and cheered too. Piper smiled: this warrior had a style that reminded her of Aerrow. She wasn't sure if she felt happy about that or if she felt sad for her loss.

The warrior handed the treasure to the counselor and bowed down, then left for the back of the stage in order to prepare himself for the next test. Not long later the rest of the warriors were done with the test as well and quite a few didn't pass, about 1/3 of them. Soon, the second competition began: it was a test of speed, strategy, and courage. The competitors had to run through a tricky obstacle course and rescue a dummy. The course had several puzzles the warriors were supposed to solve very quickly in order to move forward.

From the look of the course, it seemed quite deadly with all of its sensitive lasers, a pit with spikes bellow some unstable platforms, a bladed pendulum, and quite a few other hidden booby traps. But that was only to spark fear on the competitors, in truth, those traps were harmless, the moment someone failed on any part of the course, all the obstacles would disappear immediately, so nobody could ever get hurt. Of course, none of the warriors knew that. For them, those traps were as real as they could get.

The counselor once again sounded the horn to start the competition. Many of the warriors charged without a second thought. Others were too afraid to move, being disqualified in the process. Among the ones who charged, one made a mistake right on the first trap, a few lost the competition about halfway through the course and only half were making their way to the dummy. Once they finally got to the doll they were supposed to save, they realized they still had to go back through the traps carrying the dummy, and it couldn't suffer any kind of damage at all.

One of them collapsed from exhaustion as the others charged back towards the starting line. Most of them narrowly avoided the obstacles on the way back, especially the unstable platforms, which were even closer to breaking off than before. And because of that, one of the competitors ended up losing when he reached the platforms, for he wasn't quick enough to leap by them and get to the other side. By the end of the test, only fours warriors were left. The one wearing a helmet was once again the first to finish the course, but there was another one who finished it right after him who was also doing quite well: he had long blond hair, cerulean eyes and was quite tall and bulky, he looked like some mythological hero.

Those two seemed to be the most skilled ones. It'd be quite interesting seeing them going up against each other in the duels. But the thing was: there'd be 3 duels to decide the new Sky Knight. Radarr had also paid close attention to the warrior with the helmet and he saw that guy was nearly as good as Aerrow. They were certainly on the same level. He still couldn't tell much of the blond man, but he knew they'd have a nice competition. He turned to Piper, chirping as if to try to give her an idea. She looked at him and got what he had in mind.

"Hm... I think you're right, those two should definitely compete in the finals. Let's have them fight in separate duels for now." - she said to him, then she moved to one of the organizers of the event and whispered to him their plan.

"Oh, of course, Princess." - the organizer said - "I shall save their duel for the finals."

And that's how it went. The two most prominent warriors were placed on two different duels for the semi-finals, so that, should they win, they'd face each other on the last challenge. The last event was a martial arts duel. Sky Knights are supposed to be masters at Sky Fu, so the duels should help them prove who had the best techniques.

The first duel was the one between the warrior that resembled a mythological hero and another warrior that looked like a very big Viking. People were quite impressed by the latter. Nobody could guess someone could get that big, he was twice the blonde's size, the blonde guy wasn't in anyway small. As they readied themselves, a gong was sounded, signaling the start of the fight.

The first one to move was the Viking looking guy. He charged at the blonde trying to pin him down on the ground, however, the latter grabbed on his hands and the two had a power match. Even though he was half the Viking's size, the blonde could easily hold him off. In fact, he managed to push his arms up and give him an uppercut, staggering him, then he jumped and kicked him the face, sending him flying a few feet.

The big guy fell on his back and bounce off the ground. He tried to backflip back to his feet, but in the middle of the act he realized he didn't have enough momentum, so he ended up smashing his head against the ground, being knocked out in the process. The blonde warrior had won.

Many women were cheering a lot, completely fangirling over the man. Well, he certainly had presence. The Princess and Radarr clapped, congratulating him on his victory. He did a really good job, alright. Now was the time for the mysterious warrior with the helmet. His opponent was a very fit guy, he was a little bit taller than him and looked dead serious about their duel. He wore a scarf around his neck. The two readied themselves when the gong sounded.

The guy with the scarf proceeded to run extremely fast, it was nearly impossible for the spectators' eyes to follow him. He circled the opponent with the helmet in order to get him confused, but that didn't seem to work. The warrior with the concealed face didn't even mind trying to follow the man with his eyes, in fact, he had his eyelids closed. The moment the fit opponent dashed in to strike, he quickly moved out of the way and grabbed his fist midway. Then he tossed the man over himself. The fit warrior, however, proved to be easily able to get back to his feet without even touching the ground after he was tossed, as he spun in the air to recover his footing.

Realizing he had possibly underestimated his adversary, the man decided to be more cautious. He ran around the platform again, but this time he played out differently: he used his scarf to simulate an arm lock around his opponent's neck. The warrior with the helmet held onto the scarf in order to prevent himself from being strangled. The man pulled on the scarf with all his might, causing the opponent with the helmet to feel as if someone were yanking a chain tied to his neck.

He took the chance to charge at his immobilized adversary. Intent on kicking him out of the platform, the fit man swung his leg to land a blow on his head, but he didn't expect the warrior with the helmet to react so fast. He ducked, spun around and kicked him over himself, similar to what he did to toss him, but this time, they were a lot closer to the edge of the platform.

The fit man managed to pretty much glue the tips of his feet on the very edge of the platform and held himself up due to the scarf tied around his opponent's neck. He tried to pull the warrior with the helmet out of the platform so both would have to be disqualified in case he didn't manage to get back on the ring. However, as he did that, the eyes inside the helmet looked at him as if he were smirking. At that moment, the two competitors were facing the Princess and Radarr, and it was then that the little guy could take a good look at them. Hm... Did that mysterious warrior just happen to be that good or was there something _familiar_ about that?

The seemingly smiling adversary moved his hands away from his neck, showing that during that split second in which he spun around near the ground he had untied the scarf, freeing himself, so the only thing keeping the man on the ring was the fact he was still holding the scarf. He let the cloth go, causing the man to fall out of the platform. The warrior with the helmet had won.

Just like Piper and Radarr had predicted, the two best competitors would have to face each other in the finals. They were allowed a break of 10 minutes before the final duel, so they could practice and recover from their previous fights. The warrior with the helmet was on a corner practicing and warming up a little by punching and kicking the air at an incredible speed. The blonde one approached him to talk.

"Hey, you're very quick and reserved. I couldn't even get the chance to analyze your style there." - he complimented him.

"Heh, you're pretty good yourself. Taking that big wall down in one kick." - he pointed a thumb at the Viking looking competitor who was gathering his stuff in order to leave - "That's no small feat. I better be careful."

"Good look, then. And may the best out of the two of us win." - the warrior that resembled a mythological hero extended his hand friendly.

"You bet. Good luck. Let's give them a show out there." - the mysterious adversary shook hands with him.

Soon the two of them walked towards the platform, where the final fight would take place. The crowd was cheering a lot. There were even some people making bets on who'd win, just for the fun of it, but they knew both fighters were very skilled, it was hard to determinate who had the better chances of winning. Still, the blonde one seemed to be a favorite among most women, though the attention of the Princess and Radarr was mostly on the warrior with the helmet. There was certainly something peculiar about him. And they were sure they'd find out if he came out victorious, so, for some reason, they kind of felt like rooting for him on the inside.

The two fighters positioned themselves and the gong was sound. This time, none of them attacked right away. They studied each other for a brief moment. For those with trained eyes, the fighting stance of the opponent could tell them a lot about how they blocked, dodged and attacked. Finally, one decided to make the first move: it was the blonde. He dashed very quickly and went for a direct attack. The warrior with the helmet almost didn't block in time. For someone so bulky, that guy was quite fast!

The favorite among the women proceeded to throw in several punches: they were quick, precise and powerful. Yet, the adversary didn't falter. He dodged and blocked every single one of the blows. There was this one time in which he blocked and held the blonde's arm, then he pushed it aside in order to lower his guard so he could attack. The mysterious warrior was even faster than his opponent, he was probably faster than the one he had faced before as well since the fight was so short nobody could see his actual potential. And besides being fast, he didn't lack in strength one bit.

He was throwing punches and kicks like lightning strikes a tree: in the blink of an eye and causing a lot of damage if they land. The blonde wasn't quick enough to dodge, so all he did was use his arms to shield himself. However, he couldn't protect his whole body with only his arms, so the fighter with the helmet took advantage of that and proceeded to circle him and attack from all angles and at any openings. His opponent managed to keep up with blocking for a while, but apparently, the mysterious warrior never got tired. The adversary that resembled a mythological hero decided to turn the tides of the duel.

He quickly ducked and tried to knock the other one off his feet with a low kick. The guy in the helmet jumped up and landed on his hands a few inches back, then pushed himself off the ground to land on his feet. He did that about three times until he had enough distance from his adversary. The blonde charged at him in order to grab him in the middle of those backflips. And he actually managed to get a hold of his armor. He pulled him, trying to toss him out of the platform. The mysterious fighter was about to be thrown towards the edge of the ring, but he'd not be defeated so easily. He grabbed firmly on the blonde's arm so he could drag him along.

They stumbled to the edge, and, in the blink of an eye, the warrior with the helmet disappeared and reappeared in front of the blonde, ready to knock him back with an uppercut. He was so fast that most people literally missed him, except for Radarr, the Princess and some judges paying close attention to the fight. The favorite of the women fell off the platform, giving the victory to his opponent. A lot of people cheered, some were a little disappointed for losing their bets, but they all were glad in general for the show provided by the two competitors.

They shook hands again friendly, complimenting each other's skills as they left for the backstage. Then the winner headed for the pod, where he'd meet with the Princess and her personal guardian, Radarr. The mysterious warrior breathed in deeply. The time had come at last. The peered through the curtain for a split second, then he came out.


	10. Her Favor, His Love

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**Chapter X**

**Her Favor, His Love**

There was a very big crowd cheering as the winning competitor came out from behind the curtains. The Princess and Radarr were waiting for him on top of a small pair of stairs. The young woman in the pink dress gestured for him to come closer to receive his prize: she was holding a very well crafted handkerchief that was supposed to represent her favor and his honor. He stood at the base of the stairs as she tied the cloth around his neck.

"Congratulations, noble warrior." - she said - "You've proven to be fierce, cunning and honorable, and for that, you shall be named the new Sky Knight of Terra Solaris. We'll be forever grateful for your will to guard us."

Everyone clapped and whistled excitedly. Their new Sky Knight had just been chosen! That was an event that would be remembered for the rest of their lives and beyond. Piper remained a little bit distant from the new knight, though. She might have given him her favor as part of the event, but… He just couldn't replace Aerrow in her heart. Yet… She felt like there was something strange about this mysterious warrior, especially when she looked into his eyes.

Radarr gave him two thumbs up, congratulating him for his victory and gestured to the pod, where there was a microphone so he could make a speech. Beside the pod was the counselor, holding up a very big golden trophy. The man in the helmet walked there and humbly accepted the prize. He held it up as the spectators took some pictures of him, then he placed it carefully on a table near the pod so he could speak to the public.

"Thank you, Your Highness, for your words and for placing so much faith in me, I'm very honored." - he bowed, then he looked at the crowd - "Here I swear to unconditionally protect all of you to the best of my abilities, no matter what. And I hope I'll be able to always keep this oath for the rest of my life, just like I'm keeping my promise to come back for you…" - he paused for a moment to remove his helmet, revealing who he truly was, then gestured towards the Princess - "…My beloved Piper."

Her hands flew to her mouth as her heart melted and tears ran down her face upon seeing his especially messy red hair and his deep green eyes staring tenderly at her. She knew that familiar feeling about him was right, yet, it didn't spoil the surprise of seeing him, the brave Sky Knight she loved so much, who everyone thought to be gone, came back from the dead just for her. Radarr was just as happy as she was, he was already crying from joy.

Unable to hold her eagerness any longer, she rushed to him, almost tackling him off the pod. She hugged him very tightly with her face buried on his shoulder, her tears wrinkling his brand new uniform, but he didn't mind that at all. They pulled away slightly just enough so they could look at each other's faces.

"Aerrow… You came back…" - she was in so much awe and joy that her voice came out almost like a whisper - "How did you…?"

"Well, I simply couldn't stand being away from you, so I had to heal myself as quickly as possible." - he told her - "And the moment I recovered, I just followed your light."

She smiled and shook her head a little at his flattering explanation, then she placed both hands on his face and pulled him into a kiss. He didn't have to think twice to return the gesture, so he tightened his embrace and deepened the kiss. The people from the kingdom were cheering loudly. Not only did they have a new Sky Knight, but their Princess was finally going to get married and become a Queen, along with a new King they were certain would be just as great as their current ruler.

And that's how it went. The next week the preparations for Aerrow and Piper's wedding were done and everyone could enjoy the ceremony. Radarr even managed to get hooked with a hen that was lucky to catch the Princess' bridal bouquet right beside him and winked suggestively at him. With a new King and Queen, Terra Solaris entered a new age of prosperity, the whole world remained in peace, and everyone lived happily ever after.


End file.
